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Blue Origin Wins NASA Contract to Develop Crewed Lunar Lander
In an exciting development in the space industry, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has won a key contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop a crewed lunar lander. This technology will be critical for delivering astronauts to the moon’s surface later this decade, aligning with the agency’s Artemis program. The endeavour is expected to be worth more than $7 billion, with the contract award from NASA being worth just over $3.4 billion.
Blue Origin Leads as Dynetics Lag Behind
The Blue Origin-led team, working with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics, topped the proposal of a team led by Leidos-owned Dynetics. Other proposals were expected, but likely won’t be revealed until NASA releases documents explaining its selection process. Known as the Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) program, the competition was essentially a second-chance contest that NASA organized after Elon Musk’s SpaceX was the sole winner of the first crew lander contract in 2021.
Adding Another Privately-built Lunar Lander
Last year, NASA explained the reasoning behind a second bidding process to add another privately-built lunar lander, saying, “competition is critical to our success.” Space agencies worldwide have been focusing on expanding their capabilities since nations such as China and India have made significant progress in lunar exploration recently. Adding further competition to the development of spacecraft and other vehicles is expected to expand the rate of innovation and drive down the costs.
Benefits of Leverage
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed his satisfaction with the Blue Origin award, citing the agency’s ability to leverage commercial partners in pursuit of its goals. “We can leverage that money by working with a commercial industry and, through competition, bring those costs down to NASA,” Nelson said during Senate testimony in 2022.
SpaceX Continues to Close the Gap
There has been ongoing development by SpaceX, whose nearly 400-foot-tall Starship rocket is in the works. In April, SpaceX made an attempt to reach space with the vehicle for the first time. Recently, Musk estimated that the company would spend about $2 billion on Starship development this year, and expects the company to reach orbit around the Earth with its next launch.
NASA’s Artemis Program
Both HLS and SLD are part of NASA’s Artemis program, which has the goal of landing humans on the moon. The agency aims to start flying crews to the lunar surface within the next few years. In December, NASA completed its first Artemis mission, flying its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft around the moon for the first time. This exciting development is sure to stir interest among industry insiders and space enthusiasts alike as humanity takes another step towards the stars.
FAQs
1. What is Blue Origin’s contract with NASA?
Ans: Blue Origin has won a key contract from NASA to develop a crewed lunar lander for delivering astronauts to the moon’s surface.
2. How much is the Blue Origin-led endeavor worth?
Ans: The Blue Origin-led effort is effectively a more-than-$7-billion project.
3. Who topped the proposal of Blue Origin?
Ans: The team led by Blue Origin, working with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics, topped the proposal of a team led by Leidos-owned Dynetics.
4. What is the Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) program?
Ans: The competition introduced by NASA was known as the Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) program. It was a second-chance contest that NASA organized after Elon Musk’s SpaceX was the sole winner of the first crew lander contract in 2021.
5. What is NASA’s Artemis program?
Ans: NASA’s Artemis program is the agency’s plan to land humans on the moon. The program aims to start flying crews to the lunar surface within the next few years.
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