It seems like the lost lawsuit will continue to haunt Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos for quite some time. Because the moment the ruling was passed in favor of SpaceX, it has been like being at the receiving end of the UNO reverse card for Blue Origin. After all, the competition between the two companies is a “tale as old as time” and it continues to progress with time albeit in a passive-aggressive manner. And now, the latest one in the list to take a jab at Bezos’ company is a former executive who worked at SpaceX who termed the lawsuit as a rather “desperate” attempt.
The Story
The fierce competition between Bezos and Musk is not a new story. It has been going on for quite some time often bordering on childlike and ridiculous. And the latest development in the saga happened on Thursday when Blue Origin lost a lawsuit it had filed against NASA for awarding a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX, blaming the space agency for favoritism and unfairness. The ruling which was passed on Thursday has finally drawn the curtains over the months-long legal battle.
Initially, a protest was filed by Blue Origin in the month of April, after which it put forth an offer to cover up to $2 billion for the production of a moon lander. It even went to the extent of posting infographics on its website stating that the SpaceX Starship is “immensely complex and high risk.” Perhaps the company was innocently stating facts. However, given the context of bitter competition, a good majority of people were not ready to buy that since most found it to be a classic “sour grapes” situation. Suing NASA was the final step by Blue Origin and evidently, it did not work out as planned. This is what Hans Koenigsmann had to say about the lawsuit,
“I think it looks pretty desperate if you ask me. Suing is always the last resort.”
Koenigsman has worked with SpaceX for over 19 years. Koenigsman is all in for the competition as he is of the opinion that it is quite helpful in keeping the costs low, in addition to ensuring investment in safety and tests.
Despite the strong competition between the two space firms, it cannot be denied that SpaceX is a step higher than Blue Origin when it comes to progress and development. This is why people mockingly tell Bezos to concentrate more on building rockets and less on lawsuits. And perhaps, they actually have a point.
