NASA Selects Blue Origin as Mars Telecommunications Network Provider
Sep 2, 2026, 10:21 AM
South Sound Business
Originally published on South Sound Business.
NASA awarded Kent-based Blue Origin a contract Tuesday to develop the agency’s Mars Telecommunications Network, a communications system that will enable reliable, high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for current and future Mars missions, according to a NASA news release.
The contract, worth up to approximately $700 million, calls for delivering a high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiter to NASA no later than Dec. 31, 2028.
Blue Origin will design, develop, integrate, launch, and operate the network as a part of the agency’s broader space communications and navigation infrastructure, NASA said in its release. The architecture will consist of a high-performance telecommunications spacecraft orbiting Mars, transmitting science data, imagery, navigation information, and critical mission communications for spacecraft operating on and around the planet, NASA added.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, in a post on X, said, “Before the first human steps on Mars, we have to build the road. Honored that Blue Origin has been selected by NASA to deliver our Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO), built on Blue Ring and in production now in Huntsville. MTO will enable science, carry payloads, and help lay the foundation for human exploration. Proud of Team Blue. We’re going to Mars.”
NASA said the award is key to its strategy to expand communications and navigation services beyond Earth and the moon, establishing the foundation for sustained exploration of Mars. Under the Artemis program, NASA is sending astronauts to explore the moon and prepare for Mars missions. Robotic missions will pave the way for human exploration there and demand for data will continue to increase. To meet this need, NASA is pursuing a purpose-built network capable of supporting a growing number of missions while providing greater capacity, reliability, and operational flexibility, its release said.
The network, managed by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, or SCaN, is expected to be operational at Mars by 2030 and will support current and future missions there as NASA ventures deeper into space, according to the release.
