NASA Hands Out $146M For Moon Lander Project, Blue Origin Finally Gets A Slice
Image via Blue Origin
NASA has announced it is awarding US$146 million to five US-based companies as part of its lunar lander project.
These milestone-based contracts will be at a fixed price, and handed out through the agency’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is finally getting a piece of the pie, after various attempts to appeal NASA’s earlier decision to award a separate contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. As of now, the dispute is still ongoing, with work on that contract suspended till November.
Bezos’ space venture was awarded US$25.6 million, with US$40.8 million going to Dynetics, US$35.2 million to Lockheed Martin, US$34.8 million to Northrop Grumman, and the remaining US$9.4 million to SpaceX.
According to Space.com, if these companies fulfill their obligations, it’ll help NASA make progress in its Artemis program, which hopes to return American astronauts to the moon within the next several years. It’s already on the back foot, considering there’s cause to think the mission won’t make its expected deadline.
“These companies will make advancements toward sustainable human landing system concepts, conduct risk-reduction activities, and provide feedback on NASA’s requirements to cultivate industry capabilities for crewed lunar landing missions,” NASA said in a statement.
[via Space.com, cover image via Blue Origin]
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