On Friday, NASA announced that Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin had won a coveted contract to build a spacecraft that will send astronauts to and from the moon’s surface. This decision will give the agency a second ride to the moon under its Artemis program, after it awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX $3 billion in 2021 to land astronauts on the moon for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
The Blue Origin contract is valued at roughly $3.4 billion, with Blue Origin privately contributing “well north” of that amount, according to Blue Origin’s lunar lander head John Couluris. The company plans to build its 52-foot tall Blue Moon lander in partnership with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, spacecraft software firm Draper, and robotics firm Astrobotic.
SpaceX’s Starship lander is poised to conduct the first two astronaut moon landings under NASA’s Artemis program, sending a pair of astronauts to the lunar surface for each mission. The Blue Moon landing, planned for 2029, is also expected to ferry two astronauts to the surface.
“Our partnership will only add to this golden age of human spaceflight,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. He added that having a second moon lander for the agency’s Artemis mission promotes commercial competition, echoing a trend in recent years that reduces costs for NASA.
This new contract is a boost for Bezos, who has invested billions into Blue Origin since founding the company in 2000 to compete for high-profile commercial and government space contracts with SpaceX. After losing in 2021, Blue Origin unsuccessfully fought to overturn NASA’s decision to ignore its Blue Moon lander, first with a watchdog agency and then in court.
Blue Origin and lawmakers had pressured NASA to award a second lunar lander contract to promote commercial competition and ensure the agency has a backup ride to the moon. NASA in early 2022 announced the program for a second lander contract. Couluris, who will lead Blue Origin’s development of the moon lander, said Friday’s award was a hard-fought outcome.
The space company had to overcome a rival bid from Leidos-owned defence contractor Dynetics Inc, the head of a partnership with Northrop Grumman. Those companies lost out to SpaceX for the 2021 contract, part of an initial moon lander procurement program. NASA under that program said it could pick up to two companies, but blamed budget constraints for only going with SpaceX.
Blue Origin’s win over Dynetics Inc for NASA’s moon lander contract is a significant achievement that will give the agency a second ride to the moon under its Artemis program. The decision promotes commercial competition and ensures the agency has a backup ride to the moon. Blue Origin plans to build its Blue Moon lander in partnership with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, spacecraft software firm Draper, and robotics firm Astrobotic.
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