Blue Origin je dobio ugovor od 700 miliona dolara za izgradnju Mars Telecommunications Orbiter-a. Orbiter, zasnovan na Blue Ring platformi, biće opremljen velikim solarnim panelima, snažnim antenama i 13 priključaka za instrumente i male sonde. NASA zahteva završetak projekta do kraja 2028., s planom da brod postane operativan oko Marsa do 2030. Kompanija će takođe lansirati i upravljati komunikacionom mrežom, najverovatnije pomoću rakete New Glenn.
Blue Origin Gradi 'Revolucionarni' Orbiter Za Mars Koji Bi Do 2030. Trebao Da Poveže Zemlju I Crvenu Planetu
Starship launches July 24 from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in South Texas. The mission represented the 13th flight test for the 407-foot-tall rocket, the largest in the world, as Elon Musk's company readies it for missions to the moon and Mars.(Steve Nesius/Reuters)
Ako NASA zaista planira da pošalje ljude na Mars u narednim decenijama, biće neophodan pouzdan i brz sistem komunikacije između planete i Zemlje. Zbog toga je NASA 1. septembra dodelila kompaniji Blue Origin ugovor vredan 700 miliona dolara za izgradnju Mars Telecommunications Orbiter-a — satelita koji bi, prema planu, mogao da bude operativan oko Marsa do 2030. godine.
Šta će raditi orbiter?
Glavna zadaća orbitera biće da obezbedi navigacione usluge i pouzdanu, visoko‑propusnu komunikaciju između Zemlje i Marsa. Blue Origin navodi da letelica treba da omogući "brzu, kontinuiranu pokrivenost" kako bi podaci prikupljeni na Marsu sigurno i efikasno stizali do naučnika na Zemlji.
Tehnologija i mogućnosti
Orbiter će biti zasnovan na platformi Blue Ring, koja se proizvodi u Huntsvilleu, Alabama. Dizajn uključuje velike solarne panele i moćne antene, kao i sedamnaest? — napomena: izvor navodi 13 priključaka — 13 priključaka za transport instrumenata i manjih bespilotnih sondi koje bi mogle da se izdvoje i neposredno istražuju površinu Marsa. Platforma Blue Ring je projektovana da dopunjava gorivo, prevozi i ugosti manje satelite, što orbitera čini fleksibilnom platformom za naučne i logističke zadatke.
Lansiranje i operacije
Blue Origin nije zadužen samo za razvoj letelice: kompanija će biti odgovorna i za lansiranje i za upravljanje komunikacionom mrežom. Planira se lansiranje pomoću teške rakete New Glenn, visoke oko 320 stopa, koja je u januaru 2025. tokom probnog leta već nosila teret povezan sa tehnologijom Blue Ring.
Ipak, New Glenn je privremeno van upotrebe nakon eksplozije krajem maja koja je uništila deo lansirne rampe na Cape Canaveral Space Force Stationu. Blue Origin radi na vraćanju rakete u operativno stanje i cilja da New Glenn ponovo leti do kraja 2026. godine.
Rokovi i širi kontekst
NASA zahteva da Blue Origin dovrši razvoj orbitera do kraja 2028. godine, kako bi uređaj mogao da bude operativan u orbiti Marsa do 2030. Projekat je deo šire strategije u kojoj NASA oslanja na komercijalne partnere da razviju tehnologije potrebne za povratak ljudi na Mesec (program Artemis) i za buduće misije ka Marsu.
Podrška postojećim misijama
Osim podrške budućim ljudskim misijama, orbiter bi pomogao i postojećim misijama na Marsu, poput rovera Perseverance i Curiosity, u bržem i pouzdanijem prenosu podataka i naučnih otkrića na Zemlju.
“Sada ćemo osigurati da nauka stigne kući,” rekao je Tory Bruno, predsednik za nacionalnu bezbednost u Blue Originu. “Ovo je zaista važna misija koja omogućava ljudsku eksploraciju Marsa.”
Blue Origin, kompaniju koju je 2000. godine osnovao Jeff Bezos, daje rok od malo više od dve godine da dovrši dizajn i konstrukciju orbitera prema ugovoru sa NASA-om vrednom 700 miliona dolara. Ako sve bude išlo po planu, Mars Telecommunications Orbiter mogao bi da postane ključna infrastruktura za komunikaciju između Zemlje i narednih generacija istraživača Marsa.
The Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy v3 booster stand at Pad 2 before sunrise as preparations continue for the second attempt to launch its 13th test flight in Starbase, Texas, U.S., July 23, 2026.(Steve Nesius/Reuters)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station May 29, 2026. The rocket is carrying 29 Amazon Leo internet satellites. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station May 29, 2026. The rocket is carrying 29 Amazon Leo internet satellites. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY)
Sparks fly from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station February 12, 2026. The rocket carries a payload for the Space Force. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station February 12, 2026. The rocket carries a payload for the US Space Force. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches July 21 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base on a Starlink satellite deployment mission. The flight marked the 50th launch of 2026 in California.(Provided by the Vandenberg Space Force Base)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off July 21 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying Northrop Grumman’s MRV-MEP satellite, designed to service other satellites while in orbit.(Craig Bailey/USA TODAY Network)
Standing nearly 100 feet tall, Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket lifts off Wednesday, March 11 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The successful launch was the rocket's first since an April 2025 mishap.(Trevor Mahlmann/Firefly Aerospace)
Northrop Grumman's Minotaur IV rocket launches April 7 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.(Provided by the Vandenberg Space Force Base)
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, FL, April 29, 2026. The rocket is carrying the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY)
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, FL, April 29, 2026. The rocket is carrying the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK(Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY)
Blue Origin launches its New Glenn rocket Sunday, April 19 from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.(Malcolm Denemark, USA TODAY Network)
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off April 19 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying the BlueBird 7 satellite for AST SpaceMobile.(Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY Network)
NASA's Space Launch System rocket begins its journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center ahead of an April 1 launch of the Artemis II mission sending a crew of four astronauts around the moon.(Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY Network)
NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 1, 2026.(Joe Skipper/Reuters)
NASA selected Blue Origin to build a Mars orbiter that will enable navigation and communications with Earth during future missions. This artistic rendering shows what the satellite operating the telecommunications network might look like.
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