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  • Federal Judge Shuts Down Blue Origin’s Lawsuit Against NASA

    Federal Judge Shuts Down Blue Origin’s Lawsuit Against NASA

    Blue Origin has been dealt a major blow, with a federal judge ruling against its suit aimed at forcing NASA to reconsider its bid.

    NASA solicited bids from multiple companies to build its next lunar lander. Despite initially signaling that it preferred to use multiple vendors, the agency ultimately decided on an exclusive contract with SpaceX due to cost concerns. SpaceX’s proposal scored higher and cost roughly half of Blue Origin’s.

    Blue Origin challenged the decision with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and then sued when the GAO refused to overturn NASA’s decision. Subsequent documents revealed that Blue Origin made a risky gamble, counting on NASA accepting its bid and then renegotiating a better price, or getting more funding from Congress.

    According to The Washington Post, a federal judge has ruled against Blue Origin’s suit, paving the way for NASA to move forward with SpaceX’s proposal. Despite the repeated setbacks, Blue Origin said in a statement that it will continue to press the case.

    At this juncture, it’s once again worth pointing out Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’ previous comments about how fast and efficiently procurement worked for the original Apollo missions, and how different it is now.

    “Today there would be three protests and the losers would sue the federal government because they didn’t win…the thing that slows things down is procurement…it’s become the bigger bottleneck than the technology.”

    Bezos should know…

  • Blue Origin Announces Plans for Commercial Space Station

    Blue Origin Announces Plans for Commercial Space Station

    Blue Origin, along with Sierra Space, has announced plans for a commercial space station called Orbital Reef.

    The space race is heating up, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic some of the leading commercial companies involved. Blue Origin was recently in the headlines for a flight that included William Shatner, the oldest person to go to space.

    The company, along with Sierra Space, is now setting its sights on launching a commercial space station, one that will be “mixed use business park” in space.

    Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit. This unique destination will offer research, industrial, international, and commercial customers the cost competitive end-to-end services they need including space transportation and logistics, space habitation, equipment accommodation, and operations including onboard crew. The station will start operating in the second half of this decade.

    The project already has the backing of Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University.

    “For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade,” said Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin. “We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight. A vibrant business ecosystem will grow in low Earth orbit, generating new discoveries, new products, new entertainments, and global awareness.”

    “Sierra Space is thrilled to partner with Blue Origin and provide the Dream Chaser spaceplane, the LIFE module and additional space technologies to open up space for commercial research, manufacturing, and tourism. As a former NASA astronaut, I’ve been waiting for the moment where working and living in space is accessible to more people worldwide, and that moment has arrived,” said Dr. Janet Kavandi, former three time NASA astronaut and Sierra Space president.

  • Shatner Returns to Earth After Successful Blue Origin Flight

    Shatner Returns to Earth After Successful Blue Origin Flight

    Blue Origin’s record-breaking flight was a resounding success as the crew, including William Shatner, have returned to Earth.

    William Shatner, at 90 years-old, is now officially the oldest person to go to space. Shatner is well-known for portraying Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, one of the most iconic sci-fi characters in history.

    Going to space was a dream come true for the actor, and he was visibly moved by the experience.

    “In a way, it’s indescribable,” Shatner told the Jeff Bezos, according to International Business Times.

    “Everybody in the world needs to do this. Everybody in the world needs to see it,” Shatner continued.

    “It was unbelievable. The little things – the weightless – but to see the blue color (of the sky) whip by you and now you’re staring into blackness. … And then it’s gone. It was so moving. This experience did something unbelievable.”

  • William Shatner Will ‘Boldly Go’ to Space on the Next Blue Origin Flight

    William Shatner is slated to go to space on Blue Origin’s next flight, ‘boldly going’ where his Captain Kirk character has gone since 1966.

    William Shatner is an icon, largely for his portray of Star Trek’sCaptain Kirk. Since 1966, Shatner has portrayed the character in the original series, as well as seven movies. He’s been a constant feature in the Star Trek community ever since. In addition, Shatner is an accomplished writer, horseman, recording artist and director.

    Blue Origin’s next flight is scheduled for October 12, and Shatner will be joining Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, on the flight. At 90 years-old, Shatner will become the oldest person to go to space.

    “I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” said William Shatner.

  • NASA: Blue Origin ‘Gambled’ On Its Proposal and Lost

    NASA: Blue Origin ‘Gambled’ On Its Proposal and Lost

    More details are emerging about Blue Origin’s losing bid for NASA’s lunar lander, and it appears the company made a risky gamble that backfired.

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin were two of the companies bidding for a contract to provide NASA’s new lunar lander. SpaceX ultimately won the contract, coming in substantially cheaper than Blue Origin’s bid. Blue Origin appealed NASA’s decision to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), and then sued the government when the GAO upheld NASA’s decision.

    More details have emerged, and it appears Blue Origin shot for the moon (pun intended), basing their bid on the belief that NASA would accept the higher bid and then negotiate a lower price after the fact.

    The company “made an assumption about the Agency’s HLS budget, built its proposal with this figure in mind, and also separately made a calculated bet that if NASA could not afford Blue Origin’s initially-proposed price, the Agency would select Blue Origin for award and engage in post-selection negotiations to allow Blue Origin to lower its price. All of these assumptions were incorrect,” the four NASA attorneys wrote in the Agency Report, according to The Verge. “Realizing now that it gambled and lost, Blue Origin seeks to use GAO’s procurement oversight function to improperly compel NASA to suffer the consequences of Blue Origin’s ill-conceived choices.”

    Because that’s totally how bidding usually works: Accept an overpriced bid, that didn’t score as high as the competitor’s, and then negotiate with the winning bidder in the hopes they’ll offer a lower price after they’ve already won. Or at least that appears to be how Blue Origin thinks bidding should work.

    This isn’t the first time one of Jeff Bezos’ companies has overbid, lost a contract and they cried foul. Microsoft accused Amazon of doing the same thing when it sued after losing out on the Pentagon’s JEDI contract, saying Amazon used the litigation process to see the particulars of Microsoft’s sealed bid and then lowered its own to be more competitive.

    Interestingly, Bezos’ companies seem to be aware of the reputation they’re building — as sore losers that resort to litigation to compensate for overpriced bids — as Amazon “sent The Verge an unsolicited 13-page list” of legal actions it says SpaceX has taken over the years, in what appears to be an effort to prove it’s no more litigious than the next company.

    Ultimately, NASA said it best: “Blue Origin made a bet and it lost.”

  • Steve Wozniak Launches Privateer, a Space Startup

    Steve Wozniak Launches Privateer, a Space Startup

    Steve Wozniak is embarking on the next chapter of his storied career in tech, launching a space startup.

    Steve Wozniak is famous for co-founding Apple, along with Steve Jobs. Whereas Jobs’ speciality was his vision and marketing, Wozniak is a technical genius whose creations formed the basis of Apple’s early success.

    Wozniak has announced on Twitter that he is co-founder of Privateer, a different kind of space startup. 

    The YouTube video included with the announcement takes a veiled swipe at existing space companies, and especially the competition between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin, saying: “This isn’t a race. It isn’t a competition, or a game.”

    The video ends with a statement that appears to sum up the company’s approach and goals:

    “So here’s to taking care of what we have, so the next generation can be better together”

  • Blue Origin Losing Top Talent to Rivals

    Blue Origin Losing Top Talent to Rivals

    On the heels of losing out on a major NASA contract, Blue Origin is also losing some of its top talent to its rivals.

    SpaceX beat out Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in a bid for NASA’s contract for a lunar lander. NASA had originally wanted to source multiple companies, but went with SpaceX exclusively due to budgetary constraints. Blue Origin appealed the decision, an appeal that was denied by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Blue Origin filed a lawsuit against NASA in hopes of overturning the decision.

    According to Gizmodo, however, some of Blue Origin’s top talent are already leaving the company. Nitin Arora, lead engineer for the company’s lunar lander program, has left for SpaceX — an especially bitter blow given Blue Origin’s loss to the company. Lauren Lyons has moved on to become COO at Firefly Aerospace, and former astronaut Jeff Ashby, as well as Steve Bennet, have also left.

    Whatever the outcome of Blue Origin’s lawsuit, the company’s bigger issue may be keeping morale up and top talent in-house.

  • NASA Pausing SpaceX Contract While Waiting on Blue Origin’s Lawsuit

    NASA Pausing SpaceX Contract While Waiting on Blue Origin’s Lawsuit

    NASA is pausing its SpaceX lunar landing contract while it waits for the initial phase of the lawsuit Blue Origin has launched.

    Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, made headlines and drew criticism when it filed a lawsuit against NASA for awarding SpaceX the sole contract for a new lunar landing system. Originally, NASA had wanted to award the contract to multiple companies, but settled on a single one due to budgetary constraints.

    Blue Origin sued after its initial appeal to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was found to be baseless. In spite of that, NASA has decided to voluntarily postpone the SpaceX contract until an initial ruling in the case, according to GeekWire. The voluntary pause will end November 1, which is two weeks after initial arguments are set to commence. NASA clearly seems to think that will be enough time to have an idea which way the case will go.

    Jeff Bezos was roundly mocked for videos that surfaced of him criticizing companies that are quick to sue when they don’t win a government contract — quite the contradiction for a man with not one, but two companies that have sued the government when losing out on a contract.

  • Deja Vu: Another Bezos Company Sues Government Over Losing a Bid

    Deja Vu: Another Bezos Company Sues Government Over Losing a Bid

    Blue Origins is suing NASA over a failed bid to participate in the agency’s lunar contract, continuing a proud tradition of litigation when losing.

    Bezos other company, Amazon, made headlines when it sued over losing out to Microsoft in a bid for the Pentagon’s $10 billion JEDI contract. Microsoft accused Amazon of using the suit as a way to gain access to Microsoft’s bid, and then lowering its own to match, essentially doing an end-run around the blind bidding process.

    Ultimately, despite initial rulings upholding the Pentagon’s contract award, Amazon kept the contract tied up so long that the Pentagon was forced to abandon it in the interests of being able to move forward and modernize its IT infrastructure. This decision was reached despite those initial rulings displaying that Microsoft clearly offered the better value.

    It appears Bezos is following the same strategy in the space race, launching a lawsuit to compensate for an inferior bid. His Blue Origin company is one of the prime competitors to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Both companies were bidding on NASA’s contract for a lunar lander. Initially, NASA had expressed interest in having two companies produce competing products, but was forced to choose a single one due to budgetary constraints, ultimately going with SpaceX’s bid. 

    Bezos’ company took multiple steps to get back in on the action, offering to waive $2 billion in fees and appealing the decision with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Blue Origin argued in the appeal that since NASA had previously — under a broad agency announcement (BAA) — said it preferred to award the contract to two companies, it should be forced to do so, especially since Blue Origin wasn’t allowed to modify or lower its original bid.

    The GAO denied the appeal, emphasizing that NASA properly notified the bid participants of the ground rules:

    We deny the protests because the BAA expressly put all offerors on notice that the number of awards was subject to available funding and the agency could make multiple contract awards, a single award, or no award at all

    SpaceX and Blue Origin were rated “Acceptable” in the “Technical” portion of the bid (with a third, Dynetics, rated “Marginal”). However, SpaceX was the clear winner in the “Management” section of their bid, receiving an “Outstanding” grade to Blue Origin’s “Acceptable.” Even more telling was the price difference, with SpaceX coming it at $2,941,394,557, compared to Blue Origin’s whopping $5,995,463,651. Even accounting for Bezos’ willingness to waive $2 billion, Blue Origin’s base price was still $1 billion higher, with a less impressive “Management” grade.

    It’s clear why the Source Selection Authority chose SpaceX (clear, perhaps, to everyone but Bezos). SpaceX had the higher rating in “Management” and “also had, by a wide margin, the lowest initially-proposed price.”

    Needless to say, Bezos’ strategy isn’t winning much admiration.

    Still others on Twitter were quick to reference an interview Bezos did, describing how quickly the original lunar lander project moved forward and the contract awarded to the winning company. Bezos even said in that interview: “Today there would be three protests and the losers would sue the federal government because they didn’t win…the thing that slows things down is procurement…it’s become the bigger bottleneck than the technology.”

    Well said Jeff Bezos, well said. Now go back to litigating your losing bid.

  • Jeff Bezos, and Brother Mark, Will Be On First Crewed Blue Origin Flight

    Jeff Bezos, and Brother Mark, Will Be On First Crewed Blue Origin Flight

    Jeff Bezos, and his brother Mark, will be among those on the first crewed Blue Origin flight.

    Blue Origin’s flight is scheduled for July 20, and will use the New Shepard vehicle. The New Shepard is made up of reusable rocket and capsule, and has undergone 11 unmanned test flights in preparation.

    Bezos announced the news via Instagram.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0MSOqnYEo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    One of the other seats is currently being auctioned off, with bids already reaching $2.8 million, with nearly 6,000 individuals bidding from 143 countries.

  • Jeff Bezos Stepping Down As CEO, Will Transition to Executive Chair

    Jeff Bezos Stepping Down As CEO, Will Transition to Executive Chair

    In a surprise announcement, Amazon has said CEO Jeff Bezos is stepping down and transitioning to the role of Executive Chair in Q3 ‘21.

    Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon and has been inextricably linked with the company ever since. He’s guided it from an online bookstore to the e-commerce and cloud computing behemoth it currently is. In turn, the company has helped drive Bezos’ personal worth, making him one of the richest people in the world, only eclipsed by Tesla’s Elon Musk in January 2021.

    After nearly three decades at the helm of Amazon, Bezos is taking a step back.

    “Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

    The company says Andy Jassy will become the new Chief Executive Officer.

    Given that Bezos owns aerospace company Blue Origin, as well as The Washington Post, he certainly has enough to keep him busy outside of Amazon. However, given his statement’s emphasis on surprising inventions, one can’t help but wonder if he will focus on his other businesses, or if he plans on a second act.

  • Microsoft Makes the Leap to Space With Azure Space

    Microsoft Makes the Leap to Space With Azure Space

    Microsoft is in second place in the Earth-based cloud market, but it looks to be positioning itself to be the premier cloud provider for space.

    The company announced the latest version of its Azure cloud program, Azure Space, designed to be the “the platform and ecosystem of choice for the mission needs of the space community.” As companies large and small turn to space for communications, travel and colonization, cloud computing will be an important part of the transition.

    Microsoft has also partnered with SpaceX to pair Azure with the Starlink satellite system. Starlink is a low-Earth orbit constellation of satellites designed to provide internet access that competes with terrestrial broadband. Unlike legacy satellite internet providers, such as HughesNet and Viasat, Starlink’s low-Earth orbit provides faster speeds and much lower latency, inline with traditional broadband options.

    The combination of Starlink and Azure will help the two companies compete with Amazon and Blue Origin, as well as provide service to customers in remote regions.

    “As the importance of data to society has increased, so too has the importance of reliable and diverse pathways for connectivity,” writes Tom Keane – Corporate Vice President, Azure Global. “Our global network of over 160,000 miles of subsea, terrestrial, and metro optical fiber helps billions of people connect all around the world. However, many of our customers also operate in remote, rugged environments and find it hard to keep pace with their increased need for access to data and bandwidth.”

    In addition to competing with Amazon, the Microsoft and SpaceX partnership will help both companies play a pivotal role in future US space operations.

    “The two companies also plan to further connect Starlink with Microsoft’s global network — including Azure edge devices — integrate SpaceX’s ground stations with Azure networking capabilities,” writes Jennifer Sokolowsky, in a company blog post.

    “SpaceX recently won a contract with the Space Development Agency to build new satellites – separate from the Starlink system – in support of a Space Tracking Layer defense system capable of detecting and tracking ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles. Microsoft will be join the SpaceX team on this project.”

    It appears that Microsoft is going all-in on the final frontier, and may quickly establish itself as the platform of choice for space operations.

  • Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin To Launch Space Shuttle This Summer

    Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is more than just the boss of one of the world’s biggest e-businesses. He’s also a venture capitalist in the field of space exploration.

    Blue Origin, the space travel venture owned by Bezos, is preparing to test out a new system for aborting a launch, perhaps as soon as this summer. Bezos’ company received an award from NASA as part of the space program’s commercial development program in order to develop a new launch system that deviates from the traditional rockets that are used to boost a shuttle into the air. The rocket, called New Shepard, utilizes rocket motors that are attached to the bottom of the crew capsule. From Flightglobal:

    The New Shepard rocket is designed to reach apogee at approximately 100km, at which point a capsule will separate and continue on an upward trajectory. The now capsule-less rocket will tip over, deploying a flared surface to improve stability and increase drag, firing its engines just above the Earth’s surface to land gently back at its launch pad.

    This summer’s launch would mark the second attempt by Blue Origin to innovate the new capsule detachment mechanism.

    This will mark the second attempt that Blue Origin has made with launching its shuttle, New Shepard. Check out the videos below to see the previous launch tests the company’s conducted.

    Prior to this endeavor, Virgin media mogul Richard Branson is perhaps the other most notable venture capitalist to try explore the possibility of a privatized space travel program. Do you think these sorts of projects help develop space exploration as a whole, or should these guys just leave this stuff to NASA? Comment below with your thoughts.