A team led by Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract to build a spacecraft that will send astronauts to and from the moon's surface, NASA's chief announced on Friday, capping a high-stakes contest.
NASA's decision to go with Bezos and Blue Origin will give it a second option for sending astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. NASA awarded fellow billionaire Musk's SpaceX $3 billion in 2021 to build its Starship spacecraft to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972. The first two Starship missions are slated for later this decade.
Blue Origin, founded in 2000, is investing "well north" of the $3.4 billion figure to develop the spacecraft, the company's lunar lander chief John Couluris told reporters at the event. Couluris said that Blue Origin, not NASA, would pay for any cost overruns. The Artemis program envisions building a long-term presence on the moon. SpaceX's Starship lander is poised to conduct the first two astronaut moon landings, followed by a similar mission in 2029 with Blue Origin's lander. Each are expected to put two astronauts on the moon's surface.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Space Company Chosen to Develop Moon Lander for NASAJeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and its partners will develop a moon lander for NASA, a victory for the space company after it missed out on a similar contract two years ago
Read more »
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin wins NASA contract to build astronaut lunar landerA team led by Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract to build a spacecraft to send astronauts to and from the moon's surface, NASA's chief announced on Friday, capping a high-stakes contest.
Read more »
NASA picks Bezos' Blue Origin to build lunar landers for moonwalkersJeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX.
Read more »
Bezos' Blue Origin wins NASA contract to build lunar landers for moonwalkersIt will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk's SpaceX. FOX13
Read more »
Bezos' Blue Origin wins NASA astronaut moon lander contract to compete with SpaceX’s StarshipThe SLD program was effectively a second-chance contest that NASA organized after Elon Musk's SpaceX was the sole contract winner in 2021.
Read more »