Deepti Sri
4 min read
-
NASA selected Blue Origin to build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, with the orbiter due by Dec.31, 2028.
-
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought 504,799 RKLB shares across three ETFs on Tuesday.
-
Neutron’s narrowing 2026 launch window returned to focus following the award.
Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) slid 2% overnight late Tuesday after NASA awarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin a Mars communications contract worth up to $700 million, adding to retail traders’ tension over recent executive stock sales and whether delays to the company’s Neutron rocket hurt its chances.
RKLB stock fell 2% on Tuesday, marking its second straight loss and its ninth decline in the past 10 sessions.
Rocket Lab Misses Out On NASA Mars Deal
NASA selected Blue Origin to design, build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, which will relay science data, imagery and navigation information for missions operating on and around Mars. The firm-fixed-price contract requires Blue Origin to deliver a high-performance telecommunications orbiter by Dec. 31, 2028. The network is expected to become operational at Mars by 2030.
Eligibility was restricted to U.S. commercial providers that had received NASA funding for a Mars Sample Return design study and proposed a separately launched telecommunications orbiter. Rocket Lab was among the companies that met those conditions.
Rocket Lab Touted Its Mars Credentials
Rocket Lab had detailed a proposed orbiter built on its flight-proven Explorer spacecraft platform, featuring optical communications, an aerosynchronous orbit and vertically integrated components. The company said it could launch aboard Neutron or another medium or heavy-lift rocket. When asked about the procurement on Rocket Lab’s recent earnings call, CEO Peter Beck said he hoped to receive NASA’s decision last month.
“There’s very few folks that can demonstrate the level of capability and experience that we have,” he said. “We feel strongly positioned.” Rocket Lab cited the twin Escapade spacecraft it built for NASA as evidence that it could deliver Mars hardware on a fixed-price contract and compressed schedule.
NASA Goddard had also awarded the company a separate $390,936 study of end-to-end Mars communications architectures in February. Rocket Lab built the Escapade spacecraft, while Blue Origin launched them aboard New Glenn in November 2025. They are expected to reach Mars in September 2027.
