The companies included Blue Origin, SpaceX, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman
WASHINGTON, September 15. /TASS/. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States has selected five companies that should assist in carrying out developments related to the future use of the lunar lander. The contract amount will be $146 million, according to a statement published on the agency's website on Tuesday.
As follows from the document, the companies will "finalize the concept" of this device. They will "help the management to ensure a uniform pace of crew flights to the lunar surface" as part of the Artemis program. This work is designed for 15 months and includes the search for solutions to reduce the risks associated with these operations, as well as proposals for the development of the necessary industrial capacities.
The companies included Blue Origin, SpaceX, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Under this contract, Blue Origin will receive $25.6 million, SpaceX - $9.4 million, Dynetics - $40.8 million, Lockheed Martin - $35.2 million, Northrop Grumman - $34.8 million.
As follows from the document, the selected companies will develop "lander design concepts", evaluate their safety and effectiveness. They will also "test the most important components" and "refine key technologies". This will make it possible to make landing on the surface of the Moon safer in the future, NASA believes.
In April, the agency announced a $2.9 billion contract for the construction of the lander with SpaceX, rejecting applications from Blue Origin and Dynetics. The US Space Agency explained its decision with limited funds and the fact that SpaceX's offer was the most profitable. Blue Origin and Dynetics filed a complaint with the Congressional oversight body, in connection with which the execution of the contract was suspended. At the end of July, this complaint was rejected.
Representatives of Blue Origin later filed a lawsuit in federal court. The company claims that NASA improperly evaluated its proposal to create a module. The court has not yet made a decision on this case. In August, the space Administration agreed to voluntarily suspend the execution of this contract until November 1.
About the Artemis program
NASA announced in the spring of 2019 that the program of landing astronauts on the Moon, called Artemis, includes three stages. The first is the launch of the Orion spacecraft into space at the end of 2021 with the help of a new Space Launch System launch vehicle, which will make several orbits around the Moon in an unpiloted mode and return to Earth. The second is a flyby of the Earth's natural satellite with a crew on board, which is planned for 2023. In the third stage, NASA expects to deliver astronauts to the Moon in 2024, and then send them to Mars in the mid-2030s.
In August, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin said that the landing of astronauts on the Moon in 2024 is not possible due, in particular, to delays in the development of spacesuits.