Blue Origin quits NASA's $34 billion space station race 25 days before bids are due

Orbital Reef goes on the shelf

Blue Origin is dropping out of NASA's competition to build the station that succeeds the International Space Station, the company confirmed to Aviation Week↗ on November 13, saying it is "focusing resources on capabilities that directly advance our lunar projects" ¹. The decision shelves Orbital Reef, the commercial outpost Blue Origin and Sierra Space were picked in 2021 to develop as one of three funded NASA station concepts ¹. "By sharpening that focus, we can move faster," the company said in the same statement ¹. The ISS is slated for decommissioning in 2030, and NASA is counting on companies to build the replacement ¹.

A $34 billion door narrows to three

NASA issued the final request for proposals↗ under the Commercial LEO Destinations program on October 9 ¹². Bids are due December 8 and awards are anticipated on April 15, 2027, on multiple-award contracts carrying a guaranteed minimum of $100 million against a ceiling of $34.06 billion ¹².

Blue Origin is the second of the three 2021 winners to walk: Northrop Grumman▲+0.24% — Northrop Grumman, up 0.24 percent today left in October 2023 and joined Starlab, the venture between Voyager Technologies and Airbus ¹. That leaves Starlab; Axiom Space, whose station would first attach to the ISS before flying free; and Vast, which works with NASA under an unfunded agreement and aims to launch Haven-1 in early 2027 ¹.

The Moon ledger it chose instead

The money Blue Origin already holds points the other way. In September it won a contract worth up to $700 million↗ to build NASA's Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, an award Rocket Lab is challenging at the Government Accountability Office ³. On November 7, NASA handed it a $94 million base contract, plus a $140 million option tied to performance, to deliver the nuclear-powered PROMISE rover to the lunar South Pole in late 2028 aboard its Mark 1 lander ⁴.

Blue Origin is also one of eight companies eligible for lunar-delivery task orders worth up to $10 billion over 10 years↗, a roster that includes SpaceX▼−2.57% — SpaceX, down 2.57 percent today, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines ⁴⁵.

A grounded rocket sits under every award

Every dollar of that ledger rides New Glenn, which has not flown since a May 28 engine-test explosion ⁶. Blue Origin said on November 10 that a redesigned oxygen valve had passed qualification testing, and named no launch date ⁶. NASA already expects some of the new lunar transport missions to fly on New Glenn ⁴.

Starlab inherits the odds

NASA intends to select two or more contractors for early development ¹², so one fewer bidder improves the arithmetic for everyone left. Voyager (NYSE: VOYG), whose Starlab is the only station bid anchored by a US-listed company, holds about $700 million in signed commercial reservations and has booked $212.5 million in NASA milestone receipts since inception, against a $55.7 million third-quarter net loss ⁷. It calls the spring award "a potential catalyst" ⁷. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman says the agency wants "credible development plans" from companies "willing to invest" ².

Bids land December 8, and Sierra Space has not said

Proposals land on December 8, with awards anticipated on April 15, 2027 ¹². Sierra Space has not said publicly whether it will bid without Blue Origin ¹. And New Glenn had been due to fly again before the end of 2026 ⁶; a November 6 report of a memo↗ from chief executive Dave Limp pushed the return into 2027, and the valve news of November 10 still named no date ⁶⁸.