Blue Origin secures $700M NASA deal to build Mars communications network by 2028
NASA awarded Blue Origin a contract worth up to about $700 million to design, build, and operate a high-performance Mars telecommunications network, delivering a DTN-enabled relay orbiter by end-2028 and achieving operational status around Mars by 2030 to relay science data, imagery, navigation, and mission communications for future missions. The award marks NASA’s shift toward commercially operated interplanetary communications infrastructure and aligns with the Artemis program’s Moon-to-Mars ambitions, even as Blue Origin continues lunar contracts and recovers from a recent launchpad setback.
Science · 6 sources · Sep 2, 2026Read it
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About New Glenn
New Glenn is a family of two-stage partially reusable launch vehicles developed and operated by the American company Blue Origin. The rocket has an operational heavy-lift New Glenn 7×2 configuration and under-development super heavy-lift New Glenn 9×4 configuration, both using seven-meter diameter stages. With a payload capacity of 45 tons to low Earth orbit, it is the most powerful reusable launch vehicle to reach orbit.
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