From the Federal Times. GAO denies protest due to government need for the product:
GAO denies protest of NASA commercial space contracts
Aaron Boyd, Senior Writer 1:02 p.m. EST January 22, 2015
The Government Accountability Office denied a protest of NASA's commercial near-Earth orbit flight contract awards, stating that the space agency took into account the appropriate considerations when choosing Boeing and SpaceX as its commercial partners.
Aeronautics technology company Sierra Nevada Corp. filed a protest days after the contracts were awarded in September, however a court later ruled that NASA could move ahead with its plans due to safety concerns.
Decision: GAO denies Sierra Nevada Corp protest
"Failure to provide [Commercial Crew Transportation Capability] service as soon as possible poses risks to the [International Space Station] crew, jeopardizes continued operation of the ISS, would delay meeting critical crew size requirements and may result in the U.S. failing to perform the commitments it made in its international agreements," NASA said after the protest was submitted.
GAO's January decision means those plans can continue unabated.
The oversight agency denied all four of the protest areas, including charges that NASA:
•Improperly elevated the importance of a solicitation goal;
•Falsely determined that the awardees' fixed price was realistic;
•Used unequal or unreasonable technical evaluation criteria; and
•Failed to assess past performance.
Table shows NASA's evaluation process when considering
Table shows NASA's evaluation process when considering the three offerors. (Photo: GAO)
Placing near-Earth orbit flights in the hands of private sector companies will allow NASA to concentrate its resources on bigger endeavors.
"Turning over low-Earth orbit transportation to private industry will allow NASA to focus on an even more ambitious mission — sending humans to Mars," NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said.
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