GAO Decision To Uphold Moon Landing Partner Pick Enables Project's Development - NASA

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2021) The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) decision to uphold NASA's selection of SpaceX as its partner for the development of a human landing system for a lunar mission allows them to continue the development and establish a timeline for the mission, NASA said.

"NASA was notified Friday, July 30, that the US Government Accountability Office has denied the protests filed by Blue Origin Federation and Dynetics and has upheld the agency's source selection of SpaceX to continue the development of its human landing system," NASA said in a statement on Friday. "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."

Earlier on Friday, GAO decided that protests from billionaire Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin and technology company Dynetics were groundless, as NASA was within its rights to award a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX to develop the first lunar landing system to be used in more than 50 years.

NASA added in its statement that astronaut safety remains the highest priority during its mission to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. The pace agency said it will provide updates on the way ahead for the lunar expedition, known as Artemis, and will continue working with the Biden administration and Congress to ensure funding for the the lunar project remains robust.