NASA awards Blue Origin contact for Mars telecom orbiter
Posted: Sat, Sep 5, 2026, 9:49 AM ET (1349 GMT)
NASA selected Blue Origin to build a Mars telecommunications orbiter. The agency said Tuesday it awarded a contract to Blue Origin valued at about $700 million for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), a spacecraft designed for launch in late 2028 that will serve as a communications relay in Mars orbit between other spacecraft there and Earth. NASA received funding for the mission in the budget reconciliation act last year, with restrictions on the companies that could bid on it. Blue Origin and Rocket Lab were the two companies most publicly interested in the mission. Blue Origin said its MTN orbiter will be based on its Blue Ring spacecraft.
NASA selected Blue Origin to build a Mars telecommunications orbiter. The agency said Tuesday it awarded a contract to Blue Origin valued at about $700 million for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), a spacecraft designed for launch in late 2028 that will serve as a communications relay in Mars orbit between other spacecraft there and Earth. NASA received funding for the mission in the budget reconciliation act last year, with restrictions on the companies that could bid on it. Blue Origin and Rocket Lab were the two companies most publicly interested in the mission. Blue Origin said its MTN orbiter will be based on its Blue Ring spacecraft.
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