Controversial race to conquer space gets a new episode after American Tycoon Jeff Bezos decided to sue NASA, United States Space Agency.
founder of heroine and space company blue original decided after the US space agency decided to sign with SpaceX Of Elon Musk Contract to build the Moon Landing System.
The project – which involves an investment of US$2.9 billion (over R$15 billion), aims for astronauts to return to the Moon in 2024, in a mission that has not been performed since 1972.
Like Musk, Bezos had submitted an offer to NASA to be part of the construction of this lunar landing module, but it was rejected.
The controversy is even more complicated, as the original idea was that construction would be done by two companies, with NASA hiring only one due to a lack of resources.
According to the company of the founder of Amazon, There are “fundamental problems” in the agreement between NASA and SpaceX, which Bezos called “unfair.”
In a lawsuit, Blue Origin said it continues to believe it needed two vendors to secure the landing system.
It also accused NASA of making “invalid and inadequate evaluations” of its proposals during the bidding process.
“We strongly believe that the problems identified in this acquisition and its consequences must be resolved to restore equity, create competition, and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America,” the company founded by Bezos said.
What’s behind NASA’s decision?
At the time of the grant, NASA’s head of human exploration, Kathy Laiders, acknowledged that the space agency’s current budget prevented it from selecting the two companies.
This is because the United States Congress approved only US$850 million out of the US$3.3 billion that was requested to complete the project.
Faced with this situation, in July, Bezos offered to renegotiate the contract to cover up to $2 billion of NASA costs, but his offer was rejected.
Another factor cited by NASA for accepting SpaceX’s offer is mission history. Orbitals from Elon Musk’s company.
Also, cost is believed to have played a part – SpaceX’s offering was the cheapest.
The US Government Accountability Office, or GAO, dismissed Blue Origin’s complaint, saying that NASA “did not act unfairly” in awarding the contract to any one company.
Now, the US space agency must file a response to the legal action before October 12. SpaceX has yet to comment on the process.
What do Bezos’ space travel and basketball pitch have in common:
What do Bezos’ space travel and basketball pitch have in common
When will it be our turn to go to space? Check out the video below:
