Why Jeff Bezos Is Suing NASA Over Its Moon Deal With Rival Elon Musk's SpaxeX

The billionaire space race continues to throttle forward as Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin sued NASA on Friday, Aug. 13, for awarding Elon Musk’s SpaceX company a lunar landing equipment contract.

Blue Origin alleges that NASA was unfair in awarding SpaceX the contract will provide lunar landing equipment for a mission to put humans on the Moon again, according to the BBC. They say that the evaluation was “unlawful and improper,” though not specifying why.

“We firmly believe that the issues identified in this procurement and its outcomes must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America,” Blue Origin’s statement said.

There are not many details into Blue Origin’s case as they have asked the judge to seal the documents, saying that it could cause “severe competitive harm” if the information surrounding the case was made public, CNN reported.

NASA’s Human Landing System is part of its Artemis Program, which aims to put people on the Moon again by developing and creating moon launchers, collaborating with private corporations.

“This critical step puts humanity on a path to sustainable lunar exploration and keeps our eyes on missions farther into the solar system, including Mars,” NASA’s human exploration chief, Kathy Lueders, said.

The plan was for two contracts to be awarded for more competition between the corporations, but after Congress approved only part of the budget, NASA was forced to partner with only one conglomerate for the project.

SpaceX’s record and ability to have orbital missions was cited as the reason why the company was chosen. The cost was also speculated to be a factor: SpaceX’s offer for the contract was said to be $2.9 billion, while Blue Origin’s offer stood at around $5.9 billion.

Bezos offered in July to cover the budgetary shortfall if NASA would reconsider Blue Origin’s bid, but NASA declined the offer, the New York Daily News reported.

The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, has rejected the claims that Blue Origin made about the project, including the statement about the lack of fairness in the awarding.