[Satellite Today 01-16-09] PlanetSpace has filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA‘s selection under the International Space Station Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) competition, PlanetSpace announced Jan. 15.
    PlanetSpace claims it offered a superior proposal, received a higher mission suitability score from NASA’s Source Evaluation Board (SEB), and was lower in cost than one of the two proposals selected by NASA. PlanetSpace would not disclose which company’s offer it referred to.
    In December, NASA awarded SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. contracts totaling $3.5 billion, with a potential of almost twice that amount, to provide logistics and supply runs to the International Space Station after NASA’s space shuttles are retired in 2010.
    PlanetSpace said it assembled a subcontract team for the CRS contract competition that included Lockheed Martin, Boeing and ATK and that all companies had received a mark of "excellent" from the SEB for past performance. "Our solution reduces ISS resupply risk to NASA and thus will allow NASA to focus its resources on other space priorities, such as solving America’s space program beyond low earth orbit," the company said in an issued statement.