Jeff Bezos offers NASA $2 billion rebate for manned lunar lander mission
Fresh off his journey to the edge of space, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has offered NASA a rebate of up to $2 billion to award the Human Lunar Landing System (HLS) contract to his space company Blue Origin, which was announced earlier this year. Elon Musk was won by SpaceX. Escalating his space war with Musk, Bezos said in an open letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday that his company will close the US space agency’s near-term budgetary shortfall and build a safe and durable lander. that will return the Americans to the surface of the Moon – for the time being.
“I believe this mission is critical. I am honored to be offered these contributions and am grateful to be in the financial position to be able to do so,” Bezos wrote.
Amid protests from Bezos-owned Blue Origin, the US space agency in May suspended work on a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk-owned SpaceX.
Blue Origin has filed a protest with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) against NASA for awarding SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024.
In the letter, Bezos said that “Blue Origin will bridge the HLS budgetary funding shortfall by waiving all payments of up to $2B in the current and next two government fiscal years to get the program on track now”.
“This offer is not a deferment, but a one-time and permanent waiver of those payments. This offer provides time for government appropriation actions to take hold. Blue Origin will, at its own cost, contribute to the development and launch of a path-breaking mission. Going forward Low-Earth orbit of the lunar descent element to reduce development and schedule risks by ongoing,” Bezos said.
Blue Origin will accept a firm, fixed-price contract for this work, cover any system development cost overruns, and protect NASA from partner cost escalation concerns.
The US space agency was expected to take two lunar lander prototypes (including one from Blue Origin), but funding cuts from the US Congress prompted the agency to choose SpaceX over Blue Origin.
The third company in the race, Dianetics, also opposed NASA’s decision to grant GAO, which postpones bidding disputes.
In the 175-page protest, Blue Origin accused NASA of misrepresenting several parts of the proposal for its lunar lander called Blue Moon.
Musk responded to Blue Origin’s protest with a tweet: “Can’t take it up (in orbit) lol”.
The contract is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024 as a step for the first manned mission to Mars.
Bezos says, ‘Best day ever!’
Jeff Bezos blasted into space with people on the first flight of his rocket company on July 20, becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft.
The Amazon founder was accompanied by a hand-picked group: his brother, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands, and an 82-year-old aviation pioneer from Texas—the youngest and oldest to fly in space.
“Best day ever!” Bezos said when the capsule landed on the desert floor in far west Texas after a 10-minute flight.
July 20 FILE PHOTO: Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launches carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, brothers Mark Bezos, Oliver Damon and Wally Funk
Named after America’s first astronaut, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket lifts off on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a date chosen by Bezos for its historical significance. He caught it fast, even as Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson advanced his flight from New Mexico and beat him into space by nine days.
However, two private companies chasing space tourism dollars have drawn criticism for catering to the wealthy, while many are struggling amid the pandemic.
Pictured: Jeff Bezos travels to the edge of space in Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket
.