It seems that the soap opera of recent months, starring Blue Origin and in which, although they would not want to have done it, SpaceX and the US space agency have also participated, could be about to end. Better yet, it appears that the company has decided to take the blow and move on, rather than stick to a judicial path that, viewed with a little perspective, does not seem to benefit anyone at all. In times when that of win-win-win, this would be a I know, I know, I know.
This all goes back to the moment when hea NASA opens a competition to select a company capable of creating a space vehicle, capable of taking off from the Earth, flying to the Moon, landing there and being able to return to our planet. All this, of course, for the manned program with which the United States intends to return to the Moon this decade, as the first step for the more than ambitious plan to bring human beings to the surface of Mars at some point in the next decade.
Among others, SpaceX and Blue Origin were presented to this contest, thus facing two of the most mediatic billionaires of today, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Thus, in some way, this contest also became a fight of egos, something that is never positive in these circumstances. But beyond that, both companies had a lot at stake, both in terms of prestige, of course, and financially, something important for SpaceX, but even more so for Blue Origin.
NASA reserved the right to choose more than one of the aspiring companies in the contest, which was erroneously interpreted by them as that finally two of them would be chosen (and financed, of course). The surprise came when, finally, only SpaceX was chosen for in the contest. Something that caught Blue Origin totally by surprise, who undoubtedly expected to be one of the two chosen by the space agency.
From that moment on, Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos entered a spiral that, without a doubt, has left quite a dent in the image of the company, and that caused a rather unpleasant scuffle between Bezos and Musk, whose echoes still resonate. But the worst, without a doubt, is that heThe legal actions carried out by Blue Origin have delayed the work of SpaceX, which could translate into delays in the return of man to the Moon. This is undoubtedly the worst part of it all.
Nevertheless the judicial path seems to have come to an end and, to the joy of all, Jeff Bezos seems to have accepted it and is already looking ahead, with new plans for your company. And it is that, as we can know from a tweet from Bezos himself, the Court of Federal Claims has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Blue Origin. The reaction of the businessman is found in the tweet itself:
«It is not the decision we wanted, but we respect the judgment of the court and wish NASA and SpaceX every success in the contract.»
Not the decision we wanted, but we respect the court’s judgment, and wish full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract. pic.twitter.com/BeXc4A8YaW
– Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 4, 2021
Thus, it seems that this court ruling is the last episode of the soap opera that, frankly, it has been a bit embarrassing. Now, with that chapter closed, Blue Origin can focus on its launch plans for a new space station, Orbital Reef, a project in which a consortium of companies will be formed that, and this may be the reason why the company has ceased its hostilities against NASA, the US space agency will also play a more than important role.
