U.S. watchdog rejects Blue Origin protest over NASA lunar contract

FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. government watchdog on Friday sided with NASA over its decision to pick a single lunar lander provider, rejecting a protest filed by Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics Inc.

The companies had challenged the $2.9 billion award to Elon Musk's SpaceX for the lander, arguing NASA was required to make multiple awards. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said it "denied the protest arguments that NASA acted improperly in making a single award to SpaceX."