A team led by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract to build a spacecraft to send astronauts to and. While the military contractors aren't likely to go under any time soon because of SpaceX, they may find themselves increasingly locked out of space flight contracts, which carry a certain prestige than bombs and fighter jets simply can't match. How tech billionaires in Hawaii are responding to Maui wildfires. While there's no question Jeff Bezos would love to see his company's crewed lunar lander be the first to touch down on the moon in over 50 years, the real drivers of this lawsuit are more likely Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin, who have seen their revenue from NASA contracts starting to slip. It's notable that even with Bezos' offer to cover $2 billion of his own company's bid, Blue Origin's bid was still $1 billion higher than SpaceX's $2.9 billion. SpaceX has disrupted this by offering incredibly competitive bids and consistently delivering results. Updated More On: Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos on Monday said his company will cover billions in costs if NASA will award it a contract to build a system to land astronauts on the moon. With little incentive to offer the lowest bid possible to secure a contract, many of these companies have gotten very used to the government simply having no choice but to accept the only qualified bids on the table – which just happen to be large. (Image credit: Blue Origin) Analysis: more than just a billionaire's wounded egoĪs tempting as it might be for some to write off Blue Origin's protest as the whining of one particularly bitter billionaire, Blue Origin's proposal wasn't made by Blue Origin alone.ĭue to Blue Origin's admittedly limited experience in actual space flight – Jeff Bezos' jaunt past the Kármán line notwithstanding – the company has partnered with some heavy hitters in the aerospace industry: Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.Īs founding members of the military-industrial complex, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have long benefitted from a steady stream of government contracts with little to no real competition.
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