NASA’s competition for the development of private space stations that will take flight in the 2030s is already nearing crunch time. But a recently unsealed lawsuit may spice things up even further.
The lawsuit involves two of the most prominent companies in this competition, Houston-based Axiom Space and Long Beach, California-based Vast Space. And it is surfacing as final proposals for private space stations are due from companies to the US space agency a little more than one month from today, on December 14 .
According to the court filings unsealed by a November 4 order from US District Judge Charles Eskridge, Axiom is pursuing a False Claims Act case against Vast in which Axiom accuses Vast of presenting NASA with a fraudulent mission-planning document that incorporates Axiom’s proprietary information.
“Axiom Space filed this false-claims action on behalf of the government because public-private partnerships in human spaceflight depend on candor, capability, original work, and integrity,” an Axiom Space spokesperson told Ars. “Presenting another company’s hard-won experience as its own does not meet that standard.”
In response, Vast said the lawsuit was about competition, not fraud.
“NASA opened private astronaut missions to more than one provider because competition drives innovation, delivers better value for taxpayers, and keeps America leading in space,” a Vast spokesperson said. “Misusing litigation against a competitor works against all of that.”
So what happened? Let’s unpack this further to understand what we do and don’t know at this point.
The dispute revolves around a program called Private Astronaut Missions , launched in 2019, through which NASA allows private companies to organize missions of up to four astronauts to visit the International Space Station. The missions are part of NASA’s effort to increase commercial activity in low-Earth orbit and allow private companies to gain some operational experience as they develop their own commercial space stations. As such, these missions are viewed by some as a stepping stone toward private station contracts with NASA.
