Posted: Tue, Jan 6, 2015, 12:39 PM ET (1739 GMT)
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Monday that NASA did nothing improper when it issued commercial crew contracts in September to two companies, denying a protest filed by a losing bidder. Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) filed the protest shortly after NASA awarded Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts valued at up to $6.8 billion to Boeing and SpaceX. SNC argued that its bid was less expensive than one of the companies and of similar technical merit; it also said that NASA improperly emphasized the ability of bidders to be certified to carry crews by the end of 2017. The GAO concluded that NASA made no undue emphasis on schedule and dismissed other issues raised by SNC in its protest. SNC, in a statement, accepted the GAO's decision and said it would seek other avenues to support continued development of its Dream Chaser vehicle.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Washington Post article
•  Denver Post article
•  Reuters article
•  GAO press release