Commissar SFLUFAN Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Bezos offers to cover $2 billion in NASA costs in exchange for astronaut lunar lander contract WWW.CNBC.COM NASA in April awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX with a sole $2.89 billion contract to build the next crewed lunar lander under its Human Landing Systems program. Quote Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos on Monday offered to cover billions of dollars of NASA costs in exchange for a contract to build a lunar lander to land astronauts on the moon. Bezos said Blue Origin would waive all payments up to $2 billion from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the current and next two government fiscal years. Blue Origin would also fund its own pathfinder mission to low-Earth orbit, according to the letter. In return, the company requested a fixed-priced contract from the government agency. “This offer is not a deferral, but is an outright and permanent waiver of those payments. This offer provides time for government appropriation actions to catch up,” Bezos said in an open letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 He really is just copying Dr Evil. He even doubled his offer of . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 We love our public private partnerships don't we folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finaljedi Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Is the anticipation of Blue Origin that this will just never happen so it doesn't really matter? They don't need to really build a working lander if the damned thing is never going to outer space. SpaceX has a record of designing and building things that actually end up in space, Blue Origin has a tourist pod that kind of goes to space for a minute before it falls back down after 20 years of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinIon Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 My understanding is that NASA asked for a bunch of money and time to have multiple companies build landing systems. Congress gave them a fraction of that money and cut the timeline dramatically, so they went with SpaceX because they were the cheapest and they had the only proven human-flight capable tech. If Bezos wants to spend $2B to stay in the running, that's fine with me. NASA shouldn't just give Blue Origin (and their "national team" of defense contractors) the contract, but if he can prove a more capable craft in the right timeframe without spending any taxpayer money, go for it. Unlike everything else Blue Origin has done, this would at least be impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Looks like Bezos runs Blue Origin like an entitled asshat... Blue Origin ‘gambled’ with its Moon lander pricing, NASA says in legal documents WWW.THEVERGE.COM Why didn’t Jeff Bezos’ space firm pitch a cheaper proposal? NASA specifically told everyone to submit their best offers first because they didn't have the time and money to waste negotiating and they didn't think Congress would give them everything they asked for. Didn't matter, because Blue Origin's proposal was still higher than they actually wanted because they assumed NASA would want to negotiate with them because they were bringing Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to the table. NASA didn't even bother countering and just chose SpaceX since they're offer was for half of Blue Origin's was while also what having proven their space chops. Quote Blue Origin “made an assumption about the Agency’s HLS budget, built its proposal with this figure in mind, and also separately made a calculated bet that if NASA could not afford Blue Origin’s initially-proposed price, the Agency would select Blue Origin for award and engage in post-selection negotiations to allow Blue Origin to lower its price. All of these assumptions were incorrect,” the four NASA attorneys wrote in the so-called Agency Report, dated May 26th. “Realizing now that it gambled and lost, Blue Origin seeks to use GAO’s procurement oversight function to improperly compel NASA to suffer the consequences of Blue Origin’s ill-conceived choices.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Quick, somebody photoshop Bezos getting fucked up his ass by his dick shape rocket. At least SpaceX (even if you hate Musk) has shown a pretty solid space record so far. They just launched 4 fucking citizens ALONE into space for a few days and brought them back safe and sound without an actual astronaut on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentWorld Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 This whole billionaires playing at space is boring. If Bezos wants to pay $2 billion to play around in space then let him do it I guess. I'd care more if they were to actually accomplish things that haven't already been done for decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air_Delivery Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 At least billionaires Musk and Branson have some redeeming qualities. Like they look fun to pal around with. Bezos just seems awful on all fronts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal-El814 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 9 hours ago, Air_Delivery said: At least billionaires Musk and Branson have some redeeming qualities. Like they look fun to pal around with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 I just want to go to the MOOOOOOOON MOOOOOOOMMMMMYYYYYYY WAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA EEHEHHWJFFJUF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinIon Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 That NASA report gets a bit spicy: (emphasis mine) Quote it is not an overstatement to say that all of the successes upon which the Option A procurement is built, all of this once-in-a-generation momentum, can easily be undone by one party—in this case, Blue Origin—who seeks to prioritize its own fortunes over that of NASA, the United States, and every person alive today who dreams to see humans exploring worlds beyond our own. Plainly stated, a protest sustain in the instant dispute runs the high risk of creating not just delays for the Artemis program, but that it will never actually achieve its goal of returning the United States to the Moon. What begins as a mere procurement delay all too easily turns into a lack of political support, a budget siphoned off for other efforts, and ultimately, a shelved mission. GAO should, of course, sustain one or more of Blue Origin’s grounds of protest if they find them to be availing. But NASA merely wishes to impress upon this office just how high the stakes are in the present dispute It sound extreme, but I think it's fair. If this lawsuit continues, it's easy to imagine Artemis never taking off. Hell, the SLS has been struggling along for a decade now, the origins of the Artemis program date back further. It's only recently that it seems to be getting some momentum. Blue Origin could easily drag this down for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 I honestly have never seen a government response to a protest use such "charged" language before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 17 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: I honestly have never seen a government response to a protest use such "charged" language before. It really comes across in a very "We don't care if we ever work with these guys again" sort of way. Honestly, why should they? Blue Origin is backed by tons of money, is working with industry behemoths, have already received tons of NASA money, and have shown nothing for it. Even Rocket Lab can reliably get to space and they aren't backed by world's richest men money and have five times fewer employees than Blue Origin. Like, what the fuck are those guys even doing out there other than just trying to get rich pulling in government contracts? On top of all that, it's apparently a toxic bro-fest over at Blue Origin... ‘Rife with sexism’: employees of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin describe ‘toxic’ workplace culture WWW.THEVERGE.COM Blue Origin faces a protest from inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 Bezos' Blue Origin loses NASA lawsuit over SpaceX $2.9 billion lunar lander contract WWW.CNBC.COM The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled against Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in the company's lawsuit against NASA. Quote The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled against Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Thursday in the company’s lawsuit versus NASA over a lucrative astronaut lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year. Federal Judge Richard Hertling sided with the defense in his ruling, completing a monthslong battle after Blue Origin sued NASA in August. NASA said in a statement that work with SpaceX will resume “as soon as possible” now that the ruling has been issued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwheel86 Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 On 9/30/2021 at 1:16 PM, Ghost_MH said: It really comes across in a very "We don't care if we ever work with these guys again" sort of way. Honestly, why should they? Blue Origin is backed by tons of money, is working with industry behemoths, have already received tons of NASA money, and have shown nothing for it. Even Rocket Lab can reliably get to space and they aren't backed by world's richest men money and have five times fewer employees than Blue Origin. Like, what the fuck are those guys even doing out there other than just trying to get rich pulling in government contracts? On top of all that, it's apparently a toxic bro-fest over at Blue Origin... ‘Rife with sexism’: employees of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin describe ‘toxic’ workplace culture WWW.THEVERGE.COM Blue Origin faces a protest from inside. Honestly it reminds me of Bloomberg's Presidential campaign, they both threw a lot of money at "the best in the business" and expected they would just deliver the desired outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 14 minutes ago, Jwheel86 said: Honestly it reminds me of Bloomberg's Presidential campaign, they both threw a lot of money at "the best in the business" and expected they would just deliver the desired outcome. At least Bloomberg had the decency to be forced out of the race after a scant few months. Blue Origin has been burning through cash for 21 years with jack shit to show for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air_Delivery Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Bezos really is the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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