On Friday, NASA’s chief announced that a team led by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin has been awarded a significant NASA contract. This contract entails the construction of a spacecraft designed to transport astronauts to and from the moon’s surface, marking a significant achievement for Blue Origin. This win concludes a highly competitive competition for the coveted contract.
This decision by NASA provides the agency with an additional means to reach the moon as part of its Artemis program. In 2021, NASA had already awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX a $3 billion contract to land astronauts on the moon, marking a historic return since the last Apollo mission in 1972. SpaceX’s Starship system is scheduled for deployment in the latter part of this decade for the initial moon missions.
The contract awarded to Blue Origin is estimated to be worth around $3.4 billion, according to Jim Free, NASA’s exploration chief. Additionally, Blue Origin’s lunar lander head, John Couluris, stated that Blue Origin would be contributing a substantial amount beyond that figure.
In a tweet following the announcement, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and Blue Origin, expressed his honor at being part of the journey with NASA to establish a permanent presence on the Moon. Blue Origin intends to construct its Blue Moon lander, which will stand 52 feet (16 meters) tall, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper (a spacecraft software firm), and Astrobotic (a robotics firm).
SpaceX’s Starship lander is set to carry out the first two astronaut moon landings as part of NASA’s Artemis program, with two astronauts being sent to the lunar surface on each mission. The Blue Moon landing, scheduled for 2029, is also expected to transport two astronauts to the surface.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating that it will contribute to the ongoing golden age of human spaceflight. He also emphasized the importance of having a second moon lander for the Artemis mission, promoting commercial competition, and reducing costs for NASA.
The announcement in Washington on Friday was a highly anticipated outcome for Blue Origin, which had previously competed unsuccessfully for contracts. Blue Origin faced competition from Dynetics Inc., a defense contractor owned by Leidos, which was partnered with Northrop Grumman. However, these companies lost to SpaceX in 2021 due to budget constraints.
This new contract marks a significant achievement for Bezos, who has invested billions into Blue Origin since its establishment in 2000 to compete with SpaceX for prominent commercial and government space contracts. Blue Origin had contested NASA’s decision to disregard its Blue Moon lander in 2021 through watchdog agencies and the court system but was unsuccessful.
Blue Origin, along with lawmakers, had put pressure on NASA to award a second lunar lander contract in order to foster commercial competition and ensure that the agency has a backup option for lunar transportation. In early 2022, NASA announced the program for a second lander contract.
John Couluris, who will lead Blue Origin’s development of the moon lander, described the award as a hard-fought outcome and stated that the company has been diligently working and is prepared to move forward.