After Jeff Bezos, Now Elon Musk Can Also Go To NASA SpaceX.

The dispute stems from a decision in April to hand over the deal to one company instead of two, as expected, due to a lack of funds. NASA has yet to comment but is backed by the federal guard. In the lawsuit on Friday, Blue Origin said it still believes two suppliers are needed to build a landing system that will transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2024. 

Bezos' $2 billion bid to return to Race to the Moon

"We strongly believe that the issues identified in this sequence and their results must be addressed to restore justice, create competition, and ensure the safe return of the moon to America," Blue Origin said.

During the awards ceremony, NASA's head of human resources research, Kathy Luders, acknowledged that the space agency's current budget doesn't allow for selecting two companies. That was after Congress gave him just $850 million of the $3.3 billion he had asked for the project.

NASA also cited Elon Musk's SpaceX orbital mission record that proved to be a factor in the award. Price is also said to play a role: SpaceX's offering is by far the lowest. In July, Bezos offered to cover up to $2 billion of NASA's revised fees for the deal but was turned down.

Meanwhile, US Government Accountability (GAO) analyst dismissed complaints from Blue Origin and defense firm Dynetic, saying NASA was not "wrong" by only handing over the contract to one company. NASA must file a response to the lawsuit by October 12. SpaceX has not yet commented on the case.

As part of the Artemis program, NASA hopes to bring humans to the moon again for the first time since 1972. In April, Ms. Lueders said: "This critical step puts humanity on a path of continued lunar exploration and sets our eyes on missions further into the solar system, including Mars."