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SpaceX’s challenge of Air Force awards to Starship rivals to be rejected

Berlin, 27 September 2020. – SpaceX’s attempt to challenge U.S. Air Force’s contracts with rivals of SpaceX’s Starship for Moon and Mars missions is expected to be rejected, Reuters reported.

A U.S. federal judge plans to deny SpaceX’s challenge to U.S. Air Force contracts awarded in October 2018 to its rivals United Launch Alliance (ULA), Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin, Reuters reported on 25 September, citing a court filing according to which the Pentagon properly assessed the development of SpaceX’s Starship rocket system as “too risky and expensive.”

Despite an early August decision of the U.S. Air Force to award large, multi-billion dollar Phase 2 procurements to SpaceX and ULA, SpaceX had pressed ahead mid-August with its complaint. SpaceX opted to continue the lawsuit against the Air Force over the Starship bid, saying “substantial harm to SpaceX remains”.

On 25 September 2020, the Air Force announced to use, for the first time, SpaceX’s flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters for national security GPS programs.

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