Sierra Nevada Corporation Files Protest Over NASA Spacecraft Selection

        Sierra Nevada Corporation, which was among the companies running for NASA's contract award, said on Friday that it has filed a protest to challenge NASA's selection of Boeing and SpaceX.

Both Boeing and SpaceX were chosen ahead of Nevada based company to provide space access to the next generation of American astronauts. 

The privately owned space company said its Dream Chaser spacecraft, which resembles a mini-space shuttle, met all of NASA's criteria and was substantially less expensive than one of the companies chosen. It did not specific which company it was referring to in a press release announcing the challenge. The company's full statement is written here

 Sierra Nevada said it has never challenged a government contract award in 51 years of business, but in this case NASA's own documents "indicate there are serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process."

 The company says the $6.8 billion in contracts announced for Boeing and SpaceX will cost taxpayers "up to $900 million more" than a choice that included Sierra Nevada. It had the second-lowest-price proposal of the competition, the company said.

 Follow on twitter @natezone14 for more updates and like our Facebook page ZephNate