NASA Taps Blue Origin for $700 Million Mars Contract, Further Diversifying From SpaceX
Blue Origin will develop the Mars Telecommunications Network, which will provide high-bandwidth communications and navigation services.
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In the planet-spanning battle of the billionaire space entrepreneurs, Jeff Bezos just got a major win.
This week, NASA announced the selection of Bezos’ Blue Origin to develop the Mars Telecommunications Network, which will provide high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for Mars missions. The contract, which could be worth as much as $700 million, says the aerospace manufacturer will deliver a telecommunications orbiter by Dec. 31, 2028.
Reducing Risk
The federal space agency is borrowing from an adage nearly as old as the universe: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has become a key player for NASA’s space ambitions, with the government often tapping the recently public company’s Falcon rockets, and SpaceX being heavily involved in NASA’s Artemis program, which sends astronauts to the moon.
But as any good investor knows, it’s important to spread out your bets:
- When NASA picked Blue Origin as its second Artemis lunar lander provider in 2023 after naming SpaceX the first in 2021, the agency explicitly said that adding another partner would increase competition and allow for a regular cadence of lunar landings. In March, the NASA Office of Inspector General said that challenges would delay the planned Artemis launch dates. That makes it even more important for the government to have options.
- Last year’s feud between President Trump and Musk also showed how important it is for the government’s space agency to not be solely reliant on SpaceX. Plus, SpaceX is busy. Last month, Reuters reported that the company is prioritizing launching its own Starlink satellites, causing challenges for competitors who rely on space on its rockets.
Blue Origin’s Blues: NASA isn’t exactly playing it safe. Blue Origin is still reeling from an explosion on one of its New Glenn rockets, which badly damaged its only launch pad, during a test in May. “The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, which was later confirmed by hardware recovery and inspections,” the company’s CEO Dave Limp said on X last month.
