spacetoday.net: Blue Origin forms "national team" to compete for NASA lunar lander contract

Posted: Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 4:46 PM ET (2046 GMT)
Blue Moon lunar lander illustration (Blue Origin)

Blue Origin announced Tuesday it is joining forces with three other companies on a "national team" to propose a lunar lander to NASA. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said at the International Astronautical Congress that his company, along with Draper, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, would work together on a human lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program. Blue Origin will provide the descent module, Lockheed the ascent module, Northrop a transfer stage to take the lander from the Gateway to low lunar orbit, and Draper the guidance systems. The companies said the "national priority" created by the 2024 deadline led them to join forces, even after some of the companies proposed developing landers on their own. Proposals for NASA's Human Landing Services program are due to the agency Nov. 1, with initial study contracts likely awarded by the end of the year.