Blue Origin's first three Quartz ground stations are installed and successfully tested in Bermuda, New Zealand, and Australia, as part of a phased global rollout extending across nine sites by the end of the year. Quartz is Blue Origin's ground communications network, purpose-built to address the fragmented infrastructure, limited contact window availability, and opaque pricing models that have long constrained space operators across every mission type.
"Ground communications infrastructure has historically been one of the most fragmented and costly elements of space operations, for national security programs, civil, and commercial operators alike," said Tory Bruno, president of National Security at Blue Origin. "With Quartz, we've built a single, fully integrated network that changes that equation. One interface, one operations team, transparent pricing, and a security architecture built to meet the most demanding mission requirements."
Phase one of the Quartz ground stations feature 3.7-meter aperture antennas supporting S-band and X-band frequencies for low Earth orbit (LEO) operations. Blue Origin's Global Network Operations Center provides continuous oversight and incident response across all sites, resulting in a ground communications architecture with no third-party dependencies. Quartz was designed with security in mind and supports radiometric tracking, signal intelligence, and Space Domain Awareness capabilities across all sites.
To accelerate the initial global buildout, Blue Origin has partnered with RBC Signals, a provider of flexible and cost-effective space communications solutions. RBC Signals is supporting site surveys, antenna procurement, deployment, and hosting across the expanding Quartz network. Long-term, the team will vertically integrate these activities, enabling Blue Origin to scale Quartz while supporting mission success across the company’s on-orbit portfolio.
Through the end of year, Blue Origin will continue expanding its Quartz ground stations across global sites, with new installations featuring 9-meter apertures supporting L-, S-, X-, and Ka-band frequencies to enable mission data and Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) capabilities for geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), geostationary orbit (GEO), cislunar, and beyond.
Link: Blue Origin Begins Global Rollout of Quartz Ground Station Network