The satco lost ground after the Blue Origin rocket explosion in May, pushing the launch of initial commercial services to the first half of 2027
AST SpaceMobile says it intends to launch BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the first half of August. AST SpaceMobile describes itself as “the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications.”
The satellite company has agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators globally with over 3 billion subscribers combined and strategic partnerships with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, Bell, Telus, stc Group, and American Tower.
However, it has suffered a three to six-month delay to the start of its commercial service, which has been pushed into the first half of 2027. This is primarily due to the spectacular failure of a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket at the end of May which exploded on the launch pad.
This raised concerns over the deployment of its future Block 2 BlueBird satellite constellation, although BlueBirds 8, 9, and 10 were successfully launched earlier this month.
Biggest wing span yet
BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 have commercial communications arrays measuring about 2,400 square feet (about 222.9 square metres) matching the scale of the BlueBird satellites already operating in orbit.
These satellites are expected to almost double the peak data speeds of AST SpaceMobile’s initial Block 1 BlueBird satellites, which recently achieved peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones.
The satellites leverage AST SpaceMobile’s new stackable satellite architecture, including composite carbon structures designed to support efficient multi-satellite launches and accelerated constellation deployment. The architecture is designed to provide flexibility in deploying AST SpaceMobile’s global constellation in parallel with its use of several launch providers.
The exact timing of orbital launches is subject to change based on a number of factors, including the launch provider and weather conditions.
“With each successful launch, we move closer to our goal of making space-based cellular broadband accessible wherever people live, work, and travel,” said Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile. “BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 build on the momentum of our recent constellation and represent another important milestone as we prepare for commercial service.
“The progression from BlueBirds 8, 9, and 10 to this next mission, together with the continued production and assembly of satellites through BlueBird 37, reflects the strength of our manufacturing capabilities and our ability to steadily expand the network while we work to connect the unconnected and under-connected around the world.”
