Jeff Bezos Offers NASA $2 Billion To Restore Blue Origin In The Moon Race

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The world’s richest man appealed to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in an open letter Monday, offering to cover billions of dollars in costs for the US space agency. Bezos hopes Blue Origin can be reconsidered for a contract to build the craft that will land the next astronauts on the Moon, and his unusual proposal comes just months after NASA selected SpaceX for Blue Origin for a $2.9 billion contract to build the craft. vehicle.

The agency originally intended to have at least two private companies competing to build the spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis lunar landing missions — a project called the Human Landing System (HLS). But in April, NASA made a surprising announcement that it would go ahead with SpaceX as the project’s sole contractor, citing costs as the main reason.

Blue Origin publicly opposed the decision. Now, Bezos – after getting off his space flight last week – wants to make sure the money doesn’t get his way.

“Blue Origin will fill the HLS budget funding shortfall by waiving all payments in the current and next fiscal years to the government up to $2 billion to get the program back on track now,” he wrote.

“This offer is not a deferment, but an explicit and permanent waiver of these payments. This offer provides time for government appropriation procedures to catch up.”

Bezos has repeatedly stressed the need for NASA to promote healthy competition as the agency works on its return to the Moon, noting that the government will regret not doing so.

“Without competition, shortly after the contract, NASA will find itself with limited options as it tries to negotiate missed deadlines, design changes, and cost overruns,” he wrote. “Without competition, NASA’s short- and long-term lunar ambitions will be delayed, ultimately cost more and not serve the national interest.”

NASA expects the first woman and next man to land on the moon’s south pole in 2024 through the Artemis program. The last time humans explored the lunar surface was during the last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. While it was vying for the contract, Blue Origin proposed serving as a “national team” for the HLS program alongside frequent government contractors such as Northrop Grumman (NOC) . ) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) to design a lunar lander specifically to service the space station, called Gateway, that NASA plans to put in lunar orbit. Alabama-based Dynetics, which also protested NASA’s decision to award the contract to SpaceX, made a similar proposal.

However, SpaceX has proposed using the Starship, a giant spacecraft and rocket system in the early stages of development in South Texas. SpaceX’s primary goal for the Starship is to get humans to Mars, but the company has proposed using a modified version to service NASA’s Artemis Moon program.

Blue Origin, SpaceX and NASA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jackie Wattles contributed to this report.

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