Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 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
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×