NASA picks Bezos’ Blue Origin to build lunar landers for moonwalkers

Jeff Bezos’ rocket firm has received a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it misplaced out to SpaceX.

Blue Origin acquired a $3.4 billion contract Friday to guide a staff to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It is going to be used to move astronauts to the lunar floor as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit utilizing its personal rockets and capsules, however needs non-public firms to take over from there.

NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson mentioned the company needs totally different touchdown choices because it seeks a return to the moon greater than a half-century after the top of the Apollo moonshots.

Blue Origin is kicking in billions of {dollars}, on prime of the NASA contract, to assist set up a everlasting presence on the moon.

“We now have loads to do earlier than we efficiently land and return astronauts,” mentioned John Couluris, a Blue Origin vp.

Two years in the past, Blue Origin sued after NASA awarded SpaceX the contract for the primary lunar touchdown. A federal judge upheld the space company’s resolution.

NASA’s Artemis program, which follows the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies Apollo moonshots. kicked off with a profitable test flight late final yr. Launched atop NASA’s new moon rocket, an empty Orion capsule went into lunar orbit earlier than returning house.

The next Artemis flight will come late subsequent yr when one Canadian and three U.S. astronauts fly to the moon and again, however not land. Two People would descend to the lunar surface aboard a SpaceX Starship on the mission after that, no sooner than late 2025.

Like SpaceX, Blue Origin plans to follow touchdown on the moon and not using a crew, earlier than placing astronauts on board.

Whereas the shiny, chrome steel Starship has a science fiction look, Blue Moon resembles extra of a standard capsule perched atop a tall compartment with legs. The latter will stand 52 ft (16 meters) on the moon.

Each firms’ landers are supposed to be reusable.

Blue Origin will use its still-in-development New Glenn rocket to launch its lunar missions from Cape Canaveral. Starship, the world’s largest rocket, made its debut last month from South Texas; the check flight resulted in an explosive fireball a couple of minutes into flight.

Blue Origin’s staff contains 5 companions: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic Know-how and Honeybee Robotics.

Just one different bid was submitted for the contract competitors, based on NASA.

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