The US Space Agency decided to suspend the contract issued earlier by SpaceX and implying the creation of the lander. The reason was protests from the company's competitors — Dynetics and Blue Origin.
The suspension of the "scandalous" agreement is stated in a statement issued by NASA spokeswoman Monica Witt. "In connection with the protests filed with the GAO, NASA informed SpaceX that the implementation of the contract for the [development] of the lander is suspended until the GAO resolves all remaining lawsuits related to this purchase," [...] TASS quotes an excerpt from the document.
Thus, SpaceX will not receive funds for the development of the spacecraft until the contradictions are resolved.
On the issue of SpaceX contract for the creation of a module with which it would be possible to land astronauts on the Moon, it became known on April 16. Elon Musk's competitors were Dynetics and Blue Origin. Both companies protested the decision of the space agency.
SpaceX's proposal differs significantly from other projects — at least in the size of the lander. They want to make it based on Starship — the largest manned spacecraft. It is important to note that SpaceX, which has experience in testing its demonstrators, has actually advanced significantly further than its competitors.
Modules for landing on the moon from different companies
Image source: spacenews
SpaceX carried out the first high-altitude tests of the Starship prototype in December 2020. This launch, as well as the two subsequent ones, were partially successful. During the test, the vehicles were able to make ten-kilometer "jumps", but they failed to land successfully (Starship SN10 was able to return to earth, but exploded shortly after).
On March 30, a new prototype of the Starship SN11 was tested, which ended in complete failure. The device exploded in the air due to technical problems.
One way or another, SpaceX is not going to slow down: tests of an upgraded version of the prototype — the Starship SN15 device-are due to take place soon. [...] You can watch the broadcast on our website.
Starship SN15
Image Source: SpaceX
The project involves the creation of a reusable spacecraft that acts as the second stage of the space system. It will also include the Super Heavy accelerator, which will take over the functions of the first one.
It is assumed that Starship will be able to put more than 100 tons of payload into a low reference orbit. The system can be used for flights to the new space station, the Moon, Mars and other objects of our system.
