SpaceX’s $3 Billion NASA Win – Did Blue Origin Self-Disqualify Itself?

SpaceX's $3 Billion NASA Win – Did Blue Origin Self-Disqualify Itself?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) testing its RS-25 engines for the Infinite Launch System (SLS) in March this year. The SLS will class the backbone of the agency's Artemis program and take astronauts onboard the Orion spacecraft to a lunar space station from which they will board a Space Exploration Applied science Corp.'due south (SpaceX) Starship lunar lander to make information technology to the Moon's surface. Image: NASA TV

The National Helmsmanship and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a $2.ix billion contract to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) yesterday for the second phase of the agency'southward plan to develop a lunar lander. This lander volition form the backbone of NASA's Artemis program, which seeks to render humans to the Moon, and SpaceX bid its Starship spacecraft for the proposal.

Following the award, NASA shared its Source Selection Statement highlighting the rationale behind its determination. NASA's associate administrator homo exploration and operations mission directorate (HEOMD), Ms. Kathryn Leuders evaluated the laurels proposals for HLS. In the statement, she has highlighted the reasons behind the decision to move forrad with SpaceX for the second stage of the contract, which requires the company to demonstrate crewed and uncrewed landings on the lunar South Pole.

SpaceX Leveraged Its Success With Crew and Cargo Missions To Ensure NASA Bid Win

NASA evaluated the second-phase proposals submitted for the Human Landing Arrangement (HLS), the bureau's official proper noun for the lunar lander, past SpaceX, Blueish Origin and Dynetics according to three criteria. These considered their pattern, price and direction merits, and the big reveal in the selection statement is SpaceX being able to secure an 'Outstanding' rating for its management capability.

In the previous evaluation for the offset-phase proposals NASA had deemed this capability as being but 'Acceptable.' However, in a surprising plough of events that catapulted SpaceX right at the meridian of the Management nutrient concatenation, the company received the highest rating for this factor in the selection argument canonical by Ms. Leuders yesterday.

The master factors backside NASA's rating upgrade took into account SpaceX's success with its missions to the International Infinite Station (ISS), its conclusion to allow full NASA insight into Starship evolution and the option to fund the majority of Starship development costs.

Specifically, SpaceX'southward programme to "replicate and utilize direction processes, toolsets, and software that have been effectively employed on other, like programs"volition allow NASA to accurately track HLS development progress. Issues with the agency being able to rails development accept acquired problems with its Space Launch System (SLS) program, and SpaceX leveraged its operational culture to convince NASA for a rating upgrade.

SpaceX'south latest render for its lunar lander reveals an upgraded pattern with solar panels, which played a crucial role in its pick by NASA for the Artemis program. Image: SpaceX

Similarly, SpaceX has also agreed to let NASA monitor the development of the Starship program as a whole. While the Starship lunar lander will use the platform's upper stage, certain design features such as aerodynamic surfaces (wings), engines, solar panels and landing legs volition differ between the 2. Importantly, the lunar lander volition use Starship's start phase Super Heavy booster and tanker spacecraft for refueling, and the insight offered wooed NASA since "SpaceX's HLS try and its development of commercial spaceflight capabilities are inextricably intertwined" co-ordinate to associate administrator Leuders.

Two of these three factors (Stars funding and ISS mission experience) were favorably viewed by NASA in final year's evaluation. However, back then, the agency had as well cited previous Coiffure Dragon and Falcon Heavy development delays as raising risks for the lunar program. At present, it seems as if by providing NASA with greater insight into the Starship program, SpaceX has won over the agency's conviction for these risks.

A rapid test cadence in Boca Chica, Texas, has bolstered confidence in the plan, equally SpaceX tested its starting time Starship epitome, SN8, a fiddling over 24 hours after it submitted the final HLS proposal to NASA.

These benefits were absent from Blue Origin and Dynetics' assessments. The former's decision to piece of work with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman for its Integrated Landing Vehicle was viewed favorably by NASA. Still, its inability to satisfy the agency for data sharing and intellectual property infringement was viewed unfavorably. The latter's plans for commercialization secured NASA'south approval but its inability to schedule risk mitigation was a source of worry for the infinite agency.

The Starship SN8 prototype during landing equally one of its engines reignites. Re-ignition was a key non-NASA testing parameter that was successfully met during the prototype'south test in December last year. Image: SpaceX/Twitter

Dynetics Falls From NASA Grace Equally Company Exceeds Weight Thresholds and Fails To Provide Primal Technical Details

For its technical evaluation, NASA assigned Bluish Origin and SpaceX an 'Acceptable' rating and Dynetics a 'Marginal' rating. SpaceX and Blue Origin retained this rating over the previous assessment, but surprisingly, Dynetics fell from 'Very Good' to Acceptable.

Starship impressed NASA with its cargo volume, its back up for more than extravehicular (EVA) missions than the proposal required, interior design for efficient cargo space allocation, the ability to loiter in lunar orbit for 100 days, redundant airlocks with split up life support and environmental back up systems and excess propellant for emergencies and consumables.

The vehicle'south pattern similarities to the Crew Dragon and SpaceX's plan to allow Starship to support four crewmembers independently and an ambitious testing cadence, also won NASA's favor in the technical evaluation.

Nevertheless, just as information technology had in the previous statement, the agency cited its doubts about SpaceX's plan to refuel Starship in Earth orbit before its lunar foray and its propulsion organization design. Yet, since the refueling will take place in Earth orbit, NASA also believes that its threat to the mission is reduced. SpaceX allayed the bureau's concerns for the propulsion organization evolution past providing a detailed development schedule, something absent from the other proposals. Furthermore, since NASA'southward crewed Orion launches will occurafterward Starship has departed, the agency believes it will have elbowroom to accommodate any mission delays due to the in-orbit refueling.

A SpaceX presentation slide from 2019 demonstrating in-orbit Starship refueling. The spacecraft on the right is the standard Starship variant, different from the company's Human Landing System proposal. Image: SpaceX

Blue Origin also exceeded NASA's requirements for EVAs and the ILV is besides capable of loitering in the lunar orbit. The company's focus on crew prophylactic, a theme present in its other vehicles and impressed NASA, and the ILV'south ability to separate its descent element from the rise chemical element is a crucial safety cistron that won the bureau's approval. The ILV comprises of 3 elements, the ascent, descent and transfer elements, and the rise chemical element is the one that houses its crew.

The biggest weakness of the Kent, Washington-based visitor, withal, was its supply chain management. It will procure components of the ILV's propulsion system with long lead times from a third-party supplier, and Blue was unable to schedule their certification and validation to run into its propulsion critical blueprint review later this yr, co-ordinate to NASA. Additionally, the fact that Blue will not test disquisitional propulsion systems until 2024, which is when the showtime HLS mission is set to take, created doubt in the agency's heed equally to whether it volition be able to encounter the contract timeline requirements.

Some other significant weakness identified by NASA was that four of the six ILV communication links, such as those to Earth and to Orion, were not 'closed.' A closed link uses sender feedback to assure the receiver nearly message integrity.

Equally the associate ambassador noted:

Blue Origin'due south communications link errors would consequence in an overall lack of ability to engage in critical communications between HLS and Orion or Earth during lunar surface operations. I am troubled past the risks this aspect of Bluish Origin's proposal creates to the crew and to the mission overall.

A render of the Integrated Landing Vehicle (ILV) in lunar orbit. The transfer, descent and rise elements are visible from left to correct. According to Blue Origin'due south proposal, the three elements will launch separately from Globe and assemble themselves in lunar orbit. Paradigm: Blue Origin

Blue Origin Exceeds Several Proposal Requirements, Woos NASA With Strong Management Proposal Only Fails To Meet Proposal Compliance

Yet, the proposal's disqualifying weakness was non its technical or management weaknesses. After all, NASA rated Blue'southward management strengths and its "thoughtful" organization structure as  pregnant strengths; The bureau was impressed by the visitor forming 'badgeless' teams with representatives from the iii ILV program members to manage the overall system, stating that these "types of badgeless environments constitute a truthful organizational partnership beyond Blue Origin and its major subcontractors."

According to NASA, Blue Origin'due south proposal was ineligible for the contract honour since the company requested advance milestone payments against the contract instructions. Ms. Leuders explained that due to these payments, an award would exist impossible unless NASA negotiated with Blue to allow the company to revise its proposal to see the HLS solicitation requirements.

She also stated in a footnote that she would be willing to negotiate with the company if its proposal was beneficial to the government.

Her precise words are as follows:

While it is also the case that Blue Origin's proposal is non awardable every bit-is in calorie-free of its same advance payments, this is an issue I would endeavor to permit Blueish to correct through negotiations or discussions if I otherwise ended that its proposal presents a skillful value to the Government. This, still, is not my conclusion.

However, since SpaceX had already won nearly all of NASA's funds for the HLS, the bureau decided not to pursue further negotiations with Blue Origin. Leuders likewise wrote that post-obit the SpaceX honour, the remaining funds are so depression that her bureau "cannot reasonably ask Blue Origin to lower its price for the scope of work it has proposed to a effigy that would potentially enable NASA to afford making a contract award to Blue Origin."

Source: https://wccftech.com/spacexs-3-billion-nasa-win-did-blue-origin-self-disqualify-itself/

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