After successfully traveling into space last week, Jeff Bezos on Monday (7/26/2021) reportedly offered up to 2 billion U.S. dollars (Rp 28.9 trillion) to NASA. The offer was given by Blue Origin to the US space agency if Blue Origin got a contract to build the spacecraft, which is designed to land astronauts back to the moon.
Earlier in April, NASA had awarded SpaceX, owned by rival billionaire Elon Musk, a $2.9 billion ($42 trillion) contract to build a mission-related spacecraft to the lunar surface in early 2024.
NASA at the time rejected offers from Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics. Blue Origin has partnered with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper in the deal.
The space agency took into account the lack of funds it had, SpaceX's proven orbital mission record, and other factors, when it took a contract decision that senior NASA official Kathy Lueders called "the best value for the government."
In a letter to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, Bezos now offers Blue Origin will ignore payments in the current and subsequent fiscal years of the government to $2 billion ($28.9 trillion), as well as pay for orbital missions to examine its technology.
Instead, Blue Origin will receive a fixed-price contract, and cover the excess costs of developing the system, Bezos said. "NASA deviated from its original dual source acquisition strategy due to perceived short-term budgetary problems, and this offer removes that barrier," Bezos wrote in the Guardian.
A NASA spokesman said the agency was aware of Bezos' letter but declined to comment further. But he said Blue Origin filed a protest with the U.S. government Accountability Office (GAO) accusing the agency of giving SpaceX an unfair advantage by allowing it to revise prices.
The GAO is expected to issue its decision in early August, although industry sources say Blue Origin views the possible reversal of circumstances as unlikely.
A SpaceX spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Before choosing SpaceX, NASA had asked for a proposal for a spacecraft that would take astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, under NASA's Artemis program.
The Blue Origin lunar lander is called the "Blue Moon". Bezos and Musk are the world's first and third richest people respectively, according to Forbes. Bezos' offer comes six days after he flew with three of his crew to the edge of space with a New Shepard Blue Origin rocket and capsule.
The mission became a milestone for the company's efforts to become a major player in the burgeoning space tourism market.
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