UPDATE, October 29: AST SpaceMobile announced that their first five satellites, launched in September, have successfully unfolded their solar panels. The company reported that the successful unfolding of the satellites is ahead of schedule.
“The unfolding of the first five commercial satellites is a significant milestone for the company. These five satellites are the largest commercial communications arrays ever launched in low Earth orbit,” said AST SpaceMobile Founder, Chairman, and CEO Abel Avellan. “It is a significant achievement to commission these satellites, and we are now accelerating our path to commercial activity.”
Original story follows (published September 13, 2024)
AST SpaceMobile successfully launched its first five commercial satellites yesterday, the company announced.
Dubbed “BlueBirds” by the AST SpaceMobile, the satellites have large arrays of antennas designed to reach standard smartphones directly at cellular broadband speeds for voice, data, and video and other non-communications government applications.
The AST SpaceMobile satellites — each with a capacity of up to 40 MHz and peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps — will communicate with more than 5,600 coverage cells in the United States to provide non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States and in select global markets.
The FCC first approved AST SpaceMobile’s satellite launches earlier this year. Agreements with AT&T and Verizon provided AST SpaceMobile with the business backing to move forward with the launch.
The company has also secured strategic investments from Google and Vodafone, and new contract awards with the U.S. government. The company said it has agreements with more than 45 mobile network operators globally, which have over 2.8 billion existing subscribers.
“Today’s historic launch from Kennedy Space Center marks the next step in our shared mission of democratizing telecommunications,” Mickey Mikitani, Rakuten Group chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Mobile connectivity is a necessity no matter where you are. We are proud to be working with a trailblazer like AST SpaceMobile to create a more connected world.”
The AST SpaceMobile satellite launch was featured via a live webcast on the company’s YouTube channel. The launch takes place around 1:16:23 in the video.
