Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

NASA Suspends SpaceX Moon Mission Contract Following Recent Musk, Bezos Spat on Twitter

NASA Suspends SpaceX Moon Mission Contract Following Recent Musk, Bezos Spat on Twitter

NASA awarded SpaceX the lunar contract earlier in April, beating out billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics. For the first time since the Apollo program in 1972, a high-profile mission seeks to return humans to the Moon.

US space agency NASA announced the suspension of a contract for the creation of a lunar module with the American private company SpaceX worth about $2.9 billion due to protests from competitors at the Government Accountability Office, Reuters reported, citing the agency's statement.

As a result of NASA's decision, SpaceX must halt all work directly related to the Moon program contract until the GAO issues its ruling, which is due by August 4 at the latest.

“Pursuant to the GAO protests, NASA instructed SpaceX that progress on the HLS contract has been suspended until GAO resolves all outstanding litigation related to this procurement,” NASA spokeswoman Monica Witt said in the statement.

Blue Origin filed a complaint with the GAO on Monday, claiming, among other things, that NASA allowed SpaceX to revise its bid but did not allow Blue Origin to do so because it "moved the goalposts at the last minute." Later, the GAO confirmed that Dynetics has also questioned NASA's contract award to SpaceX.

According to a NASA source selection document, Starship, SpaceX's fully reusable rocket vehicle under construction to ferry humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars, won NASA's award primarily for its large cargo capacity and proposed offer of $2.9 billion — much less than Blue Origin's (reported at approximately $6 billion) and Dynetics'.

After the Amazon founder's space company lodged a protest against NASA for choosing rival SpaceX to construct a lunar lander, Musk took to Twitter to troll his fellow richest man on Earth Bezos on Monday.


​Later on, he followed up with a photoshopped shot of Blue Origin's lunar lander, renaming it "Blue Balls" instead of the original "Blue Moon."


​So far, Musk has been the driving force behind Starship's growth to this stage. At its Boca Chica, Texas, launch facilities, the company has launched several Starship prototypes in short and high-altitude test flights.

Landing the designs after they have soared over six miles in the air has proven to be a difficult task, with all of SpaceX's high-altitude test rockets exploding during the landing process.

After receiving license approval from the Federal Aviation Administration this week, the company's most recent test of a Starship concept, SN15, is set to launch within the next few days.

Years-Long Rivalry


Musk's banter and remarks on Bezos did not come out of nowhere. The two executives have sparred about their respective space aspirations, with Musk leading SpaceX and Bezos owning Blue Origin, but it has also expanded to other fields, since Musk has chastised Bezos for running a monopoly and dubbed him a copycat for his self-driving car ambitions.

Over the years, the confrontation between two of the most powerful CEOs of our time, with reports of their feud emerging here and there in the media, has turned into a source of jokes and ridicule on Twitter.

According to the media, Bezos has been dreaming of space at least since high school, reportedly saying in 1982 that he wanted to provide millions of people with outer space colonies. With that goal in mind, the CEO of Amazon launched Blue Origin in 2000.

Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos addresses the media about the New Shepard rocket booster and Crew Capsule mockup at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States April 5, 2017.

Musk, in his turn, sold his company PayPal to eBay for about $1.5 billion in 2002 and invested his personal wealth into the newly created SpaceX startup.


Musk reportedly attempted to give Bezos some "good advice" at their first personal meeting in 2004, but the latter "largely ignored" it. Since then, the two ambitious entrepreneurs are believed to be in a feud, and Musk has regularly joked about Blue Origin's attempts to block his company's cooperation with NASA, despite the fact that over the years the Bezos-led company has been unable to provide a reliable working spacecraft. In a 2013 interview, Musk even teased Blue Origin about its prospects for success. "Frankly, I think we are more likely to discover unicorns dancing in the flame duct," he told SpaceNews.

Bezos refrains from direct attacks on Musk, but has repeatedly criticized the main goal of SpaceX - the colonization of Mars, as unrealistic, focusing in turn on achieving a permanent presence of people on the Moon. In 2019, he said that one should "go live on the top of Mount Everest for a year first and see if you like it, because it's a garden paradise compared to Mars."

First Human Mission to Moon in Almost 50 years


Earlier, NASA stated that choosing one company was the best choice it could make at the time, given the funds provided by Congress. Last year, Congress approved $850 million of the $3.3 billion sought by NASA for two lunar landers.

NASA's forthcoming Moon mission will see the agency land the first woman and the new man on the lunar surface in 2024. The mission is part of the Artemis initiative, which was launched during Trump's presidency.

NASA intends to not only return to the Moon, but also to create a human presence on the surface. The agency hopes to land on the Moon's South Pole, which is rich in water ice that can be turned into fuel and oxygen for a lunar base.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×