B-402186, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, February 1, 2010

February 24, 2010 at 10:14 am | Posted in Space Law | Leave a comment

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The GAO has released its bid protest decision in B-402186, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, February 1, 2010 (PDF):

DECISION

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), of Hawthorne, California, protests the issuance of delivery order No. 0026 to Orbital Sciences Corporation, of Dulles, Virginia, by the Department of the Air Force, Space Missile Systems Command, on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), for space launch services for NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission. SpaceX argues that the issuance of the delivery order to Orbital violates the Commercial Space Act of 1998 (“Space Act”), 42 U.S.C. sect. 14701 et seq. (2006) with regard to the Act’s requirements to acquire launch services from United States commercial providers, and to notify Congress of the conversion of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) assets for use in space launches.

We deny the protest.