NASA May Face Protest Over Recent Commercial-Cargo Contract
Wall Street Journal
The losing bidder hasn’t made a final decision, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is slated to brief competitors as early as next on the reasons behind its decision. But PlanetSpace officials, according to these people, already are consulting with lawyers and believe they may have legal grounds to challenge the agency’s selection.
A NASA source selection panel ranked Orbital’s overall proposal and its projected costs less favorably than bids submitted by the PlanetSpace team and a third bidder, Space Exploration Technologies Inc, according to one person familiar with the details.
But William Gerstenmaier, the senior agency official who made the decision, opted to go against those rankings, according to people familiar with the details. Mr. Gerstenmaier, for example, disregarded the management strengths the selection board said stemmed from the participation of Boeing and Lockheed. Instead, NASA in the end cited PlanetSpace’s “complete lack of experience as a prime contractor,” according to documents provided to the bidders. The agency effectively decided against the PlanetSpace team because of Mr. Gerstenmaier’s doubts about its ability to manage technical risks and deliver what it promised.
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Perhaps Boeing and LockMart lobbyists should stop by US Virginia Senator James Webb’s office, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to discuss how they should proceed with the protest that would halt any launch opportunities from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. I have and will also with newly elected US Senator Marjk Warner and the new Democratic National Committee Chairman (and Virginia Governor) Tim Kaine. Virginia will NOT be sidelined or delayed by such self-serving nonsense!