AST SpaceMobile has begun deploying its first batch of commercial satellites into Earth’s orbit, intensifying the competition with SpaceX’s Starlink, which aims to deliver cellular broadband from space.
On Friday morning, AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan shared the milestone via tweet, accompanied by an image captured from one of the company’s “BlueBird” satellites. “The first Bluebird is getting ready to operate,” Avellan announced.
Last month, the Texas-based company successfully launched five BlueBird satellites with the ambitious goal of providing high-speed internet to standard smartphones on Earth. These satellites boast the world’s largest communications array—a 700-square-foot antenna panel. Initially compacted for rocket travel, AST is now unfolding them as they orbit the planet in low Earth orbit.
Avellan highlighted the company’s progress, stating, “At 700 sq ft in area, our BlueBirds are the largest-ever commercial communications arrays in low Earth orbit, specially designed for space-based cellular broadband to everyday smartphones—size matters!”
With the satellites unfurling, AST is gearing up for initial testing of the equipment. The company plans to begin a beta test of the satellites’ cellular capabilities with major telecom partners AT&T and Verizon, potentially by December. However, AST SpaceMobile must first obtain additional regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to commercially operate the satellites and provide data services to unmodified consumer phones. Currently, the FCC has only granted AST a limited license for monitoring and controlling the BlueBird fleet.
Despite this progress, AST SpaceMobile faces challenges. To offer comprehensive satellite coverage, the company will need to launch dozens—if not hundreds—more BlueBird satellites. At present, the five BlueBird satellites can only provide two 15-minute communication windows each day in the U.S. However, AST is planning for next-generation BlueBird satellites, which will be three times larger and offer 10 times the capacity of the current models.
The company’s ambitious satellite network also faces concerns from astronomers, who fear that the BlueBird satellites’ size and reflectivity may interfere with nighttime observations and research by reflecting too much light in the night sky.
