Blue Origin Nets NASA Mars Orbiter Contract
A press release on the first of September, Tuesday this week, officially confirmed NASA’s selection of Blue Origin to design and launch the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter by the end of 2028. The Mars Telecommunications Network contract issued by NASA aims to establish new communication capabilities to support missions on the surface of Mars. The spacecraft, built off a vehicle already in assembly, will be operated by Blue Origin, but owned by NASA.
Blue Origin’s winning proposal entails delivering a Blue Ring spacecraft to Mars orbit, carrying a payload of large communication systems, and potentially subspacecraft. Under the MTN contract, the provider must also provide or procure the launch service, and so the spacecraft will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Launch is targeting the 2028 Mars transfer window, which would have the spacecraft operating at Mars by 2030. Owing to its use of an existing design, the spacecraft has already begun assembly, with Blue Origin National Security Group President Tory Bruno confirming the fourth Blue Ring is being built to fulfill the company’s new contract.
Mars Orbiters are a necessary backbone of operations on the planet’s surface, providing communications support for multiple missions in multiple locations, but the fleet of spacecraft operating in orbit of Mars are aging. MAVEN, the most recent orbiter NASA delivered to Mars back in 2014, was lost to an anomaly just this year. The Mars Odyssey Spacecraft is well past its expected mission duration with 25 years spent orbiting the red planet, and its fuel is dwindling. Should Odyssey retire in the next few years, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will be left as the only operational NASA spacecraft in orbit of Mars.
Though the European Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft also provide relay support, fewer orbiters available means less available relay support, which increasingly limits operations on the surface. NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, and any future missions to the surface such as Skyfall Mars Helicopters or the prospective Mars Sample Return will be reliant on orbital support to continue operation.
Anticipating the need for a new, dedicated platform to enable ongoing and future Mars missions to be supported, NASA sent out a Request for Proposals back in May to industry, requesting concepts for a Mars Telecommunication Network that could be awarded under a Firm-Fixed Price contract. This led to a very competitive selection, with Rocket Lab and Blue Origin being the most vocal parties, launching heavy online promotional campaigns for their respective proposals. Both companies stood to gain something from the award. For Rocket Lab, a company with its own interplanetary ambitions, winning MTN would have been a substantial mark of confidence in their long-delayed Neutron rocket, and their growing satellite services.
2026 has been a difficult year for Blue Origin, with the company experiencing a major setback during New Glenn testing that resulted in the destruction of the vehicle’s only launch pad at LC-36. While work to rebuild the facility and restore operation is proceeding quickly, it is unlikely New Glenn will return to flight until 2027. The pressure on Blue Origin is increasing as the timelines to deliver on Artemis Program commitments are closing in, but this latest contract implies a continued interest, and confidence in Blue Origin as a potential game changer in the evolving space landscape.
