Blue Origin has said its lawsuit, filed in the US Court of
Federal Claims last week, was "an attempt to remedy the flaws in the
acquisition process found in NASA's Human Landing System." A US judge has
set an October 14 hearing on the case.
NASA said in a statement it paused work with SpaceX on the
human landing system through November 1.
"In exchange for this temporary stay of work, all
parties agreed to an expedited litigation schedule that concludes on November
1," the US space agency said. "NASA officials are continuing to work
with the Department of Justice to review the details of the case and look
forward to a timely resolution of this matter."
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) last month
sided with NASA over its decision to pick a single lunar lander provider,
rejecting Blue Origin's protest.
SpaceX, headed by Tesla's CEO Musk, this week intervened in
the lawsuit to ensure that the court "has a complete and accurate picture
of the facts and circumstances surrounding this protest, including the
substantial harm that SpaceX will suffer if the court grants the relief
sought" by Blue Origin.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon's founder
Bezos, has said it remains convinced there were "fundamental issues"
with NASA's decision and that the GAO was not able to address them "due to
their limited jurisdiction."
NASA sought proposals for a spacecraft that would carry
astronauts to the lunar surface under its Artemis program to return humans to
the moon for the first time since 1972.
The space agency said on Thursday it "is committed to
Artemis and to maintaining the nation's global leadership in space exploration.
With our partners, we will go to the moon and stay to enable science
investigations, develop new technology, and create high paying jobs for the
greater good and in preparation to send astronauts to Mars."
In April, NASA awarded SpaceX a contract to build such a
spacecraft as early as 2024. © Reuters
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