NASA temporarily halts work on lunar lander contract pending court case
FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
WASHINGTON : NASA has agreed to temporarily halt work on a US$2.9 billion lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk's SpaceX after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin sued the U.S government, an agency spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
Blue Origin said this week its lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Friday was "an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA’s Human Landing System." A U.S. judge set an Oct. 14 hearing on the case. NASA has voluntarily agreed to halt work on the contract until Nov. 1, according to court documents.
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
