Here's a benefit of billionaires in space, apparently Jeff wants to pay for a part of America's return to the moon, if they give him another shot!
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Jeff Bezos is offering to cover billions in costs if NASA remedies its 'mistake' and gives Blue Origin the chance to compete with SpaceX again for a moon-lander contract (yahoo.com)
Jeff Bezos is offering to cover billions in costs if NASA remedies its 'mistake' and gives Blue Origin the chance to compete with SpaceX again for a moon-lander contract
Blue Origin's offer would help it compete with SpaceX for a $2.9 billion NASA contract.
In the letter, Bezos criticizes NASA's original decision to select SpaceX as the sole winner.
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Jeff Bezos' space company is offering to cover billions of dollars in costs for a contract with NASA to take astronauts to the moon.
Blue Origin said it would cover up to $2 billion for the first two years of production of a moon lander, waiving payments for the first two years if NASA awards the company the project. The company is also offering to develop and launch a pathfinder mission at its own expense, as well as work with NASA on a fixed-price contract, which would free the space agency from any cost overages.
The offer could make a contract with Blue Origin a cheaper option than one with Elon Musk's company. SpaceX was originally handed the NASA contract for the Human Landing System program in April. NASA was forced to suspend the contract in May after Bezos' company filed a protest against the $2.9 billion contract, calling it "unfair." The contract will remain suspended until rulings have been made on the protests.
In an open letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Monday, Bezos highlighted his commitment to keeping the Human Landing System program competitive by having NASA select two companies to build machinery to take astronauts to the moon instead of just one. Before selecting a single winner of the contest, NASA had given 10-month contracts to SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to begin work on lunar landers so the agency could pick from a variety of options.
