Boeing and SpaceX will not be forced to stop work again on NASA’s commercial crewed spacecraft program.
Federal Judge Marian Blank Horn on Tuesday denied Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Louisville-based Space Systems’ request for a federal injunction to force NASA to order the work stopped while the awarded contracts are under protest. If granted, the work stoppage would have been the second in two months.
“Sierra Nevada Corporation is disappointed that the court did not reinstate the GAO’s stay of work proceeding under the CCtCap contract award. Nevertheless, SNC looks forward to the GAO’s ongoing evaluation of the critical protest issues identified in the filing and demonstrating the capability and value of our Dream Chaser for the benefit of our nation,” the company said in a statement.
At the center of the dispute is Space Systems’ allegation that its Dream Chaser spacecraft was unfairly passed over for the award. The contract instead was split between Chicago-based Boeing Co.’s CST-100, which received $4.2 billion, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which received $2.6 billion.
Space Systems filed formal protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Sept. 26, which triggered an automatic work stoppage.
On Oct. 9, NASA “under statutory authority available to it,” ordered Boeing and SpaceX to resume work.
That override was “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion and is contrary to law,” according Space Systems, in documents filed with the in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Oct. 15.
Horn disagreed, allowing the work to continue while the GAO continues its investigation.
Horn first heard the case Friday, however, the hearing was continued after Boeing and SpaceX filed motions to intervene in the case.
A motion to intervene is filed when a third party claims interest in the outcome of the case.
Space Systems is leaving the majority of the case with the GAO and was seeking only the work stoppage through the federal court.
The majority of the court documents filed last week, and the documents filed with the GAO, remain sealed.
Laura Keeney: 303-954-1337, lkeeney@denverpost.com or twitter.com/LauraKeeney
