SpaceX Wins $2.9 Billion NASA Contract For Lunar Lander Being Developed In Texas

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

April 18, 2021

SpaceX secured a $2.89 billion NASA contract to build spacecraft that will land astronauts on the moon for the first time in five decades.

The fixed-price contract is a major vote of confidence for Elon Musk’s rocket company, as the space agency is placing a large amount of responsibility for its cornerstone human spaceflight program, known as Artemis, on SpaceX.

Friday’s announcement is a blow to Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos, which had proposed working as a “National Team” alongside corporate behemoths such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to design and build a lunar lander, and to Alabama-based Dynetics, which had put in its own bid. But ultimately, SpaceX won with its bid for use of a spacecraft the company is already developing on its own in South Texas.

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.