Bezos’ Blue Origin loses lawsuit against NASA over SpaceX lunar lander contract

The U.S. Federal Court of Claims ruled against Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in the company’s lawsuit against NASA over a lucrative astronaut lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year.

Federal judge Richard Hertling sided with the defense in his ruling, completing a months long battle after Blue Origin sued NASA in August.

NASA in April awarded SpaceX with the sole contract for the agency’s Human Landing System program under a competitive process. Worth $2.9 billion, the SpaceX contract will see the company use its Starship rocket to deliver astronauts to the moon’s surface for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions.

Blue Origin quickly protested the decision with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, but the GAO in late July denied the company’s appeal – leading Bezos’ space company to escalate its legal action.

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