If this was the case, why wouldn't Astrobotics be kicking up a fuss about it? They, their stakeholders and everyone who isn't a Navajo grifter would win that fight, and even if they didn't it would be better for their reputation to be fucked over by a corrupt and retarded government than to pretend their spacecraft suffered an irrecoverable failure during launch.
If this was the case, why wouldn't Astrobotics be kicking up a fuss about it? They, their stakeholders and everyone who isn't a Navajo grifter would win that fight, and even if they didn't it would be better for their reputation to be fucked over by a corrupt and retarded government than to pretend their spacecraft suffered an irrecoverable failure during launch.
Apparently the Feds are Astrobotics biggest customer, and they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them.