Blue Origin has fallen far behind both SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) in the space race. But in all fairness, they are relatively new players on the scene.
Blue Origin dramatically lost the bid when its’ numbers were double SpaceX’s bid. NASA announced the contract award to the Elon Musk-owned firm in April.
After losing the bid Blue Origin and Dynetics filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The legislation being considered by Congress will seemingly bypass the watchdog and the NASA award process. It will be a multibillion-dollar handout to NASA to pass on to Blue Origin. Cantwell calls the effort “redundancy.”
When NASA was asked if Cantwell’s amendment will override its decision-making processes in the future a NASA spokesperson Monica Witt declined to comment.
