Elon Musk’s SpaceX Wins $2.9 Billion NASA Contract to Build Moon Lander
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Alabama-based Dynetics both lost the bid to collaborate with NASA on a project that hopes to land astronauts on the moon for the first time in 50 years.
NASA has announced it has selected SpaceX to receive a $2.89 billion contract to build a lunar lander. According to CNN, the goal of the collaboration is to land astronauts on the moon for the first time in 50 years. This is a huge achievement for Elon Musk’s rocket company.
There were other contenders for the project: Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, and Alabama-based Dynetics both put in bids hoping to be chosen. But ultimately, SpaceX won.
NASA and SpaceX have also announced they have cleared Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket for a launch next week to take a crew to the International Space Station.
CBS News states, "Pending resolution of one presumably minor technical issue, liftoff from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center is targeted for 6:11 a.m. ET on April 22."
This is the third piloted flight from the U.S. since the shuttle’s 2011 retirement.