The Main Control Department rejected the protest that NASA acted incorrectly when it chose only SpaceX to build the lunar module
NEW YORK, July 30. /TASS/. The Main Control Department of the United States (GAO, the control and audit body of Congress) did not find a mistake in the actions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), when it chose only one company, SpaceX, for the construction of the lunar module, not agreeing with the open letter of the founder of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on Friday.
"The Main Control Department rejected the protest that NASA acted incorrectly when it chose only SpaceX," the agency writes.
On Monday, Jeff Bezos addressed an open letter to NASA Director Bill Nelson, in which he offered to cover part of the agency's budget deficit in exchange for a contract to develop a lander for the Artemis lunar program ("Artemis"). He also criticized NASA for choosing only one company, SpaceX, for this task.
On April 16, NASA announced the conclusion of a $2.9 billion contract for the construction of the lander with SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, rejecting the applications of Blue Origin and Dynetics. The US Space Agency explained its decision with limited funds and the fact that Musk's offer was the most profitable. Blue Origin and Dynetics have filed a complaint with the Congressional oversight body, the execution of the contract is suspended until the end of the proceedings.