US govt calmly but firmly tells Blue Origin it already has a ride to the Moon's surface with SpaceX, thanks

SpaceX is clear to build a lander with NASA to put the first woman and another man on the Moon – after Uncle Sam dismissed complaints that the $2.94bn contract was awarded unfairly. In May, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and non-Bezos-owned Dynetics formally protested the US space agency's decision in April to use just Elon Musk's …

[gecho]

Go Fever

I wonder if the mad rush to the first Starship orbital launch is for a "in your face" directed at Bezos' for his argument against SpaceX selection being that Starship is an unproven platform. Its looking like booster 4 will fly before the 20 engine thrust simulator is finished for use on booster 3.

After the final stacking yesterday they rushed to install 29 engines in well under 24 hours before even finishing the welding.

They probably know enough from the completed tests to be confident the booster will survive launch. And since they aren't going to try catching it, the other testing can wait. I guess the test is more about advancing the Starship design than the booster.

[Spherical Cow]

Re: Go Fever

The sooner they launch the sooner they discover problems the sooner they start fixing the problems. They've already shown how comfortable they are testing to destruction.

[JDPower666]

Re: Go Fever

I haven't seen any mad rush with SpaceX, they have just got on with building and testing. And I highly doubt they care what Bezos says as they've achieved more in a couple of years than BO has achieved in the last decade.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Go Fever

Just sour grapes. Bezos ego is suffering.

[PerlyKing]

Re: Go Fever

Any kind of progress looks like a "mad rush" when compared with SLS or Blue Origin's "gradatim ferociter".

I don't think that Elon Musk gives two hoots what Jeff Bezos is doing, SpaceX is just getting on with the job in hand.

[Irongut]

Re: Go Fever

It is always worth remembering that Blue Origin was founded before SpaceX and to date has achieved nothing more impressive than 10 minutes of weightlessness for a rich twat.

[MyffyW]

Re: Go Fever

Really unfair - it achieved 10 minutes of weightlessness for the inspirational Wally Funk, an over-privileged youth, a rich twat and said twat's brother.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Go Fever

I understand the Honourable Company of Twats is debating whether or not to disfranchise the exorbitantly rich as they give twats a bad name.

[Imhotep]

Re: Go Fever

It might also be based on Blue Origin's lack of progress in actually meeting delivery commitments to existing customers such as ULA.

I'd be wary of doing business with them.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Go Fever

"I wonder if the mad rush to the first Starship orbital launch is for a "in your face" directed at Bezos' for his argument against SpaceX selection being that Starship is an unproven platform."

I doubt SpaceX were concerned over that barb. It's not as if New Glenn is a proven platform yet either.

I'm not sure I have much faith in Blue Origin anyway after getting this message from their home page "We're sorry but Blue Origin doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue."

Would you flying in anything "powered by JavaScript"?

[Sorry that handle is already taken.]

"NASA hopes to send astronauts to the Moon by 2023"

I wish them the best of luck

[RobThBay]

Re: "NASA hopes to send astronauts to the Moon by 2023"

So it'll be a one way trip?

[skeptical i]

Re: "NASA hopes to send astronauts to the Moon by 2023"

re: one way trip

"Hello, Mr. Bezos? NASA here. No, we're not going to offer you and Blue Origin the moon lander project. But we would like to offer you a consolation prize .... "

[bridgebuilder]

Re: "NASA hopes to send astronauts to the Moon by 2023"

Maybe Jeff can bid for *returning* the astronauts ... .

A warm stand-by, so to speak.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: One way trip

To be fair, the Orion capsule (the bit that takes astronauts most of the way to the moon and back) has had two successful tests of its launch about system, has gone to orbit (with help from a Delta IV Heavy) and returned to Earth safely (in 2014). Its worst problem is that bits of it are dying of old age waiting for SLS.

[Rustbucket]

I'm sure BO and others can catch up (cough).

"SpaceX installed 29 Raptor engines on a Super Heavy rocket last night"

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/08/spacex-installed-29-raptor-engines-on-a-super-heavy-rocket-last-night/

[ayay]

cry moar?

For people who preach that their underlings should just leave whenever they don't like the breadcrumbs they're getting, these gazillionaires sure cry an awful lot.

[Mishak]

That lander will be taken, with astronauts, to the Moon atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket

The astronauts will be on top of SLS for the flight to the moon; the lander will be on top of the SpaceX Super Heavy.

[Twanky]

Moon race 2.0

SpaceX are building the HLS to get people down to and off the moon.

SpaceX already have have launch to orbit, rendezvous, docking, separation, and re-entry capabilities.

SpaceX have overnight fitted engines to a rocket with a design of twice as much thrust as Saturn V. Nasa's SLS is designed for 20% more than Saturn V

If NASA don't go to the moon in 2024 SpaceX will.

[Chris G]

Re: Moon race 2.0

"If NASA don't go to the moon in 2024 SpaceX will.

That leads neatly to my opinion of Bezos; If he believes BO can do it, he should go ahead and build a lander to go on top of the blue dick and just go to the moon anyway.

It's not like he is doing anything else important with his money.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Moon race 2.0

I prefer "the dick's blue dildo".

[John Robson]

Re: Moon race 2.0

SuperHeavy launch of Starship, then refuel in elliptical orbit - then send dragon up to add crew.

Go to moon, return to elliptical orbit, go back to the dragon for reentry.

It's entirely possible that they could do that before SLS is ready - they are a long way behind, but running significantly faster.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Moon race 2.0

I think the plan is just to use SpaceX to launch the SLS as payload and then assemble it in orbit - works out cheaper than launching SLS

[Graham Dawson]

Re: Moon race 2.0

Just so long as the passengers read the Fine Print...

[lglethal]

Yep sounds like it..

...and establishing a long-term presence on the Moon is a priority for the Biden Administration...

Yep thats why Congress only gave NASA $300 million instead of the $2.4 billion they asked for so that they could have multiple lander designs.

Very much a priority. I think we can all see that, no?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yep sounds like it..

"Yep thats why Congress only gave NASA $300 million instead of the $2.4 billion they asked for"

Congress =/= "the Biden Administration".

[lglethal]

Re: Yep sounds like it..

When you control theWhite House, the house of representatives and have 50% of the senate (plus the deciding vote in the VP), then you should be able to get through a budget closer to the amount asked for, if it truly was a priority. $300 million compared to $2.4 billion, is throwing NASA a bone, nothing more...

[Potemkine!]

Elon is awesome! Inspiring / motivating!

“Yup, he’s a great leader! He motivates us to do great work.”

[Anonymous Coward]

Taxes?

If Bezos can’t write down 2 billion against this, I guess he needs to recalculate the taxes he owes?

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: $2B

Amazon Prime discount?

[Sceptic Tank]

Fly me to the moon

Jeff Bezos can go and land on Venus. Do some EVA's. Be original. Have fun. No pressure.

[John Robson]

Re: Fly me to the moon

Plenty of pressure on Venus, maybe Mercury?

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Fly me to the moon

Yeah, no heat, just go do it Jeff!

(Stay on the dark side if you don't want the heat; not forgetting to leave before it rotates into the sunny side.)

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Fly me to Venus

The Russians already landed stuff on Venus. Chris Beck from Rocket Lab has plans to send stuff there and has working orbital rockets with a viable path to re-use.

Jeff's big dream is to eventually move Earth's industry to space in giant orbital colonies. That is original and ambitious even compared to his savings account. Blue Origin got off to a slow but sane start with New Glenn until Jeff hired a new management team made of ex-Aerojet Rocketdyne employees (the ones who lost the Vulcan engines contract to Blue's previous management). Blue then switched to old-space strategy: lobby for government funds and ever lasting contracts with a promise to spread the pork to every state.

On the day I gave up on Jeff ever delivering things to orbit there were rumours that he is actually taking a step in the right direction: a stainless steel re-usable stage 2 to go on top of New Glenn made by a team unrestricted by the new old-space management.

SpaceX, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit already have working orbital rockets. I expect Astra will have soon and that ULA will get Vulcan to orbit before New Glenn but I now pencil in Blue ahead of Estes and with the staying power to survive the inevitable blood bath when investors work out there are more aspirational launch providers than payload manufacturers.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Fly me to Venus

I wonder if Google Alphabet are kicking themselves for not getting into the space race. Then again, if they had, they'd probably have made it to orbit then cancelled the beta test programme.

[The Mole]

Parsing issues

“Importantly, the GAO’s decision will allow NASA and SpaceX to establish a timeline for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years.”

First time I read this it parsed as "establish a timeline in which it will take more than 50 years before the first crewed landing", glad rereading it is after 50 years we now have a new timeline.