This was linked later in an accompanying article:<p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-proletariat-do-not-allow-jeff-bezos-to-return-to-earth?redirect=false" rel="nofollow">https://www.change.org/p/the-proletariat-do-not-allow-jeff-b...</a><p>It seems strange to me that so many people would get mad about billionaires spending money on science exploration, but you don’t hear a peep when they buy 150 m yachts…
<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/open-letter-to-administrator-nelson" rel="nofollow">https://www.blueorigin.com/news/open-letter-to-administrator...</a><p>> "Blue Origin will [...] waiv[e] all payments in the current and next two government fiscal years up to $2B to get the program back on track right now. This offer is not a deferral, but is an outright and permanent waiver [...]"<p>I dunno, sounds like "no payments until you're locked into our system". I know I wouldn't take that bait if I was a federal contract reviewer.<p>From a meta point, it's as though Blue Origin doesn't know how bidding contracts works; you put your best foot forward first, you don't sweeten the deal after the contract is awarded.<p>Certainly they are making a decent PR play in the news though.
>"Without competition, a short time into the contract, Nasa will find itself with limited options as it attempts to negotiate missed deadlines, design changes and cost overruns,” he wrote. “Without competition, Nasa’s short-term and long-term lunar ambitions will be delayed, will ultimately cost more, and won’t serve the national interest.”<p>Hearing Bezos herald himself as the defender against monopoly is multiple tiers of hypocritical.
Not sure if this was "added in translation" or if Reuters dropped it, but according to the german "Tagesschau" (source would be the DPA) the deal would be to have a new evaluation round between Space X and Blue Origin, not a direct contract.
Not sure which is correct, but both sounds like corruption to me.