NASA halts SpaceX work on lunar lander after Blue Origin suit

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) -NASA agreed on Thursday to temporarily halt work on a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk's SpaceX after rival billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin sued the U.S government, an agency spokeswoman said.

Blue Origin has said its lawsuit https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/blue-origin-sues-us-government-over-spacex-lunar-lander-contract-2021-08-16, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims last week, was "an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA's Human Landing System." A U.S. judge has set an Oct. 14 hearing on the case.