Blue Origin is advancing a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter built on its Blue Ring platform, with service readiness targeted as early as 2028. More than a single spacecraft, the proposal signals a shift towards commercial, subscription-style “data pipes” for interplanetary traffic.
Bandwidth as a utility
Mars missions today rely on ageing NASA orbiters that were never designed as dedicated relays. Scientific downlinks compete for time and power with telecom duties, producing coverage gaps at precisely the moments when data are most valuable. Blue Origin’s answer is prosaic but powerful: treat communications as a service. The company’s concept emphasises a high-throughput relay,
