Elon Musk shares meme of Judge Dredd saying 'You have been judged' after Blue Origin loses NASA lawsuit over SpaceX contract

• The US Court of Federal Claims ruled against Blue Origin in its lawsuit against NASA.
• Jeff Bezos' space company filed the lawsuit in August, after NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX.

The US Federal Court of Claims ruled against Blue Origin on Thursday in its lawsuit against NASA.

Federal judge Richard Hertling's ruling ended a months-long legal battle in which Blue Origin had made SpaceX its primary target. CNBC was the first to report on the ruling.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk commented on the ruling on Twitter. Musk responded to an article on the ruling with a meme from the 1995 movie "Judge Dredd," saying "You have been judged."

-Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2021

Jeff Bezos' space company filed the lawsuit against NASA in August, claiming the space agency's decision to award a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX was "unfair" and demonstrated favoritism towards SpaceX.

The contract was awarded in April as a part of a competition between several space companies, including Blue Origin, to create a human-landing system that could put boots back on the moon.

Blue Origin initially filed a protest with the US Government Accountability Office in July, but the organization denied the appeal.

Hertling's ruling is currently sealed to protect the companies from revealing proprietary information. Though, a redacted version of Blue Origin's lawsuit that was revealed earlier this year showed that the company was accusing SpaceX of ignoring safety concerns.

Blue Origin told Insider the company is actively work with NASA on multiple projects.

"Our lawsuit with the Court of Federal Claims highlighted the important safety issues with the Human Landing System procurement process that must still be addressed," a Blue Origin spokesperson said. "Blue Origin remains deeply committed to the success of the Artemis program, and we have a broad base of activity on multiple contracts with NASA to achieve the United States' goal to return to the moon to stay," the spokesperson added.

Bezos responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, wishing SpaceX success and appearing to indicate the company would accept the judge's ruling.

-Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 4, 2021

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from Insider, but NASA said there will be further opportunities for Blue Origin to work with the space agency.

"In addition to this contract, NASA continues working with multiple American companies to bolster competition and commercial readiness for crewed transportation to the lunar service," a NASA spokesperson said. "There will be forthcoming opportunities for companies to partner with NASA in establishing a long-term human presence at the Moon under the agency's Artemis program."

NASA's work with SpaceX on the lunar lander project was temporarily stopped while the lawsuit was reviewed, but will begin again on Monday, according to CNBC.

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