All articles tagged with #blue origin
Jeff Bezos outlined a dual vision for the future of space and work in an interview with Fox News. He expressed confidence that the U.S. will land humans on the moon by 2028 to beat China, while predicting AI will boost productivity enough to allow some Americans to work three-day weeks. Bezos also discussed orbital data centers and light-touch AI regulation.
Blue Origin has revealed a new 'Power Tower' designed to generate over 10 kilowatts of solar electricity for a future base at the Moon's south pole. The 20-meter-tall structure features a vertically deployed solar array system that unfolds after landing. The company shared an animation of the deployment on X on September 25, alongside footage of a successful Earth-based test conducted on July 22, 2026. This technology evolves from the earlier Lunar Array Mast and Power System (LAMPS) developed by Blue Origin subsidiary Honeybee Robotics. The modular design aims to support future surface networks by extending power to various assets beyond the lander itself.
Rocket Lab is downplaying the significance of NASA contracts while simultaneously pursuing a GAO protest against the agency's $700 million Mars Telecommunications Network award to Blue Origin. The company argues the selection violates congressional eligibility criteria, but its public messaging suggests a strategic shift to reduce dependence on government funding.
NASA’s long-delayed Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) faces a potential decade-long delay after Rocket Lab filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency awarded Blue Origin a $700 million fixed-price contract to build, launch, and operate a dedicated high-bandwidth relay orbiter by 2028. This move replaces the aging Mars Relay Network, whose oldest members have operated for over 25 years. The protest legally pauses all work on the MTN for up to 100 days, risking the 2028 launch window and pushing the mission into the next decade.
Rocket Lab has formally challenged NASA’s decision to award a $700 million contract for a Mars communications orbiter to Blue Origin. The company alleges the award violates specific congressional eligibility criteria and that NASA’s technical review was 'punitive' and inconsistent. While Blue Origin must deliver the spacecraft by late 2028, the protest introduces significant uncertainty regarding the timeline and the first fixed-price contract for a deep-space mission.
Rocket Lab has formally protested NASA's decision to award a $700 million Mars Telecommunications Network contract to Blue Origin. The dispute centers on congressional eligibility criteria and the fairness of NASA's technical review. While Blue Origin defends the award as rigorous, Rocket Lab argues the process was punitive and inconsistent. The standoff threatens to delay a critical Mars relay system, with the orbiter scheduled for delivery by late 2028. Market analysts note the controversy has contributed to a significant drop in Rocket Lab's stock price, as investors weigh the company's ability to compete for major deep-space contracts against industry giants.
Rocket Lab said Sept. 11 it filed a protest against NASA's award of a $700 million Mars communications orbiter contract to Blue Origin.
Rocket Lab has filed a GAO protest against NASA’s $700 million award to Blue Origin for the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), alleging the decision violates congressional eligibility criteria and procurement standards; MTN is a Mars relay spacecraft slated for delivery by the end of 2028 and operation by 2030, and Space.com notes Rocket Lab remains hopeful it may build NASA’s next Mars orbiter despite the challenge.
NASA selected Blue Origin to design, build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN), a $700 million relay spacecraft that will provide high‑ bandwidth communications and navigation for Mars missions; MTN is expected to be in operation at Mars by 2030, with delivery to NASA by December 31, 2028, and will likely launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $700 million contract to develop a Mars communications orbiter, slated for launch in just over two years, with Blue Origin proposing a variant of its Blue Ring spacecraft for the mission.
Rocket Lab (RKLB) slid after NASA awarded Blue Origin a roughly $700 million contract to design and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, while Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment bought about 504,799 RKLB shares across three ETFs. Retail traders blamed Neutron delays and recent insider sales for RKLB’s weakness, though ARK’s two-day purchases total roughly 705,102 shares worth about $31.6 million, signaling continuing institutional interest despite the setback.
NASA awarded Blue Origin a contract potentially worth up to $700 million to develop a Mars Telecommunications Network—a high‑performance orbiter to relay science data, imagery, navigation, and mission communications for spacecraft around Mars—by the end of 2028, a step toward supporting Artemis-era exploration and eventual crewed missions.
Blue Origin plans to revive Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 as a dual-pad facility to support the larger New Glenn 9x4 rocket, with a new Vertical Integration Facility and Payload Processing Facility to be built nearby. The move follows May’s explosion that damaged LC-36, and the company says it will need up to about 2,500 tons of steel for a new launch tower; repairs to LC-36A are targeted to allow the 7x2 to return by year’s end, but there’s no announced timeline for LC-36B or the 9x4 debut.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed strong confidence that Artemis 3 will launch in 2027, outlining a three-launch sequence at Kennedy Space Center: Blue Origin’s New Glenn will carry a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into low Earth orbit, followed days later by the SLS/Orion stack that will rendezvous with the lander; SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 will serve as the docking target for Orion, with rollout timing tied to continued progress on SLS and lander testing. The Max Power air- and-space expo, run by private sponsors, will be held at KSC facilities in November 2026 and is not NASA-funded. Artemis 4 remains in planning with the crewed landing system to be chosen later.
Blue Origin will rebuild LC-36A and add a new LC-36B pad at Cape Canaveral to support a larger New Glenn 9×4, including a vertical integration facility and a payload processing facility; LC-36A will host the current New Glenn 7×2, while no schedule was provided for the 9×4. The company is transitioning to a horizontal/vertical hybrid CONOPS and has been testing vertical stacking at LC-11, with the Space Force having previously awarded $78.2 million for the payload facility. Rebuilding LC-36A and returning to flight this year remains the priority, according to Blue Origin executives.