NASA awarded Blue Origin a contract worth up to $700 million to build the Mars Telecommunications Network, which will provide communications and navigation services for future Mars missions.
Under the award announced Tuesday, Blue Origin will design, develop, integrate, launch, and operate a telecommunications spacecraft that will orbit Mars and transmit science data, imagery, navigation information, and mission communications for spacecraft operating on and around the planet.
Under the firm-fixed price contract, Blue Origin is expected to deliver the orbiter to NASA no later than Dec. 31, 2028 and the network is expected to be operational at Mars by 2030.
Blue Origin said in a statement that the network will provide “near-continuous communications between Mars assets and ground controllers on Earth.”
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a statement that Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) will be built on Blue Origin’s Blue Ring spacecraft and it is now in production in Huntsville, Alabama. Blue Ring is a space logistics vehicle with both hybrid solar electric and chemical (SEP-Chem) propulsion.
“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,” Limp said.
Rocket Lab was vocal about its ambitions to build the orbiter for NASA, putting forward a design based on its Explorer spacecraft platform for the program.
