Overview
- AST SpaceMobile says BlueBird 6 has fully deployed a roughly 2,400-square-foot phased array, the largest commercial communications aperture in low Earth orbit.
- The satellite is engineered to deliver 4G and 5G voice, data and video directly to unmodified smartphones with peak user speeds up to 120 Mbps and 10 GHz of bandwidth.
- The company says the spacecraft is now entering on-orbit testing and commissioning to validate the array, beamforming and integration with partner networks.
- AST targets placing 45 to 60 next-generation satellites in orbit by the end of 2026, pending launch and regulatory schedules, with launches every one to two months.
- Agreements with more than 50 mobile operators representing nearly 3 billion subscribers underpin planned distribution, while astronomers warn the satellites’ brightness could hinder observations.