It's hard to say how NASA will respond to the open letter. "That decision broke the mold of NASA's successful commercial space programs by putting an end to meaningful competition for years to come." "Instead of investing in two competing lunar landers as originally intended, the Agency chose to confer a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar head start to SpaceX," the former Amazon CEO said. In its latest procurement, NASA didn't do that, and Blue Origin filed a protest with the federal government shortly after that.Īt the time, a Blue Origin spokesperson told Engadget NASA "executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System program and moved the goalposts at the last minute." That's something Bezos reiterates in his letter. When it comes to its most important projects, NASA has historically handed out agreements to multiple contractors to promote competition and ensure it can get a mission off the ground on time if one company falls behind schedule. At the heart of it is the belief that NASA unfairly excluded his company from a lucrative and prestigious contract. While Bezos spends a significant part of his letter talking about Blue Origin's commitment to "advance America's future in space," his offer isn't altruistic. "This offer provides time for government appropriation actions to catch up." "This offer is not a deferral, but is an outright and permanent waiver of those payments," Bezos said in the letter. Bezos said Blue Origin is also willing to fund its own pathfinder mission to low-Earth orbit. In an open letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Bezos said his company is willing to waive up to $2 billion in payments from NASA in the current and next two federal fiscal years in return for a fixed-price lander contract. After returning from the edge of space, Jeff Bezos has personally waded into Blue Origin's dispute with NASA over its decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
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