Court documents have revealed that SpaceX has filed a lawsuit against the United States federal government relating to a launch services bid.
The court filing was first reported by GeekWire on Friday, May 17. Although details of the actual lawsuit are not known, a motion to file the complaint under seal was made public. In the motion, SpaceX reference the need for the complaint to be kept confidential due to the inclusion of proprietary information.
“In support of this motion, SpaceX states that the Bid Protest Complaint and accompanying exhibits contain SpaceX confidential and proprietary information and source selection information not appropriate for release to the public,” read the motion.
At this stage, the presiding judge, judge Lydia Kay Griggsby has not noted any further action on the motion. Further updates are likely to follow in the coming week.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal action SpaceX has taken against the US government relating to the awarding of launch services contracts. In 2014, SpaceX brought action against the Air Force over a round of military launch contracts and earlier this year, the company sued NASA after an interplanetary mission to the asteroids around Jupiter was awarded to United Launch Alliance. In both instances, SpaceX argued that the company could have launched the missions at a significantly lower cost to the American taxpayer.
