The lawsuit filed by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos' spaceflight firm Blue Origin in opposition to rival billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX agency – and the US authorities, which picked SpaceX over Blue Origin – has been dismissed.
The go well with, filed in federal claims court docket, was dismissed by Choose Richard Hertling on Thursday. The ruling bars both occasion from additional talking out concerning the particulars of the choice till November 18, however no monetary settlements have been awarded. Bezos' effort to pry SpaceX from its privileged place because the beneficiary of the $2.9 billion NASA contract to return the US area company to the Moon has been successfully scuttled.
The Amazon founder apparently took the defeat in his stride, admitting in a tweet that it was "not the decision we wanted" however wishing "full success for NASA and SpaceX on the contract."
The NASA go well with, centered on a lunar lander contract as a part of the company's large Undertaking Artemis, is way from the one deal on which the 2 billionaires have clashed, although it's actually probably the most high-stakes. Not content material to attempt to edge NASA out of Musk's grasp, Bezos, through an Amazon subsidiary known as Kuiper Programs, wrote to the Federal Communications Fee in August in an effort to forestall Musk's satellite tv for pc firm Starlink from deploying one other spherical of high-speed internet-providing satellites.
Whereas the result of that scuffle -if any- has not been made public, Kuiper hopes to launch its first two prototype satellites within the fourth quarter of 2022 utilizing a rocket designed by ABL Area Programs.
Regardless of his repeated public mockery of Bezos' lawsuits, Musk's personal firm sued the US authorities again in 2019 for its "arbitrary and capricious" choice to favor rivals like Blue Origin over SpaceX.
Also on rt.com
SpaceX sues US Air Force for awarding lucrative contracts to 'paper rocket' builders like Bezos
It's removed from the one time the Tesla tycoon has taken others to court docket, as Bezos revealed in September, releasing a 13-page listing of a whopping 39 authorized actions pursued by SpaceX through the years. Bezos, it appears, was bored with Musk's jokes specializing in his lack of ability to "sue his way to the moon." Musk, nonetheless, retorted that his lawsuits have been searching for the flexibility to compete, accusing Bezos of making an attempt to stifle competitors.
Not content material to let the Artemis contract ruling go down with out a remark, Musk managed to get in a single final jab at Bezos, posting a meme informing the Amazon founder that he had been "judged."
Should you like this story, share it with a good friend!
