AST Spacemobile Targets Over 45 Satellite Launches By 2026
“BlueBird 6 is a breakthrough moment for AST SpaceMobile. This mission validates years of US innovation and manufacturing and marks our transition to scaled deployment”: Abel Avellan
NELLORE: Buoyed by Isro’s successful launch of BlueBird 6, AST SpaceMobile is entering its next phase of execution and is on track to deploy over 45 to 60 satellites by the end of 2026, with launches planned at intervals of one to two months, said Abel Avellan, founder, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, Avellan said BlueBird 6 was assembled, integrated and tested at the company’s manufacturing facility in Midland, Texas. Describing it as significantly larger and more powerful than its earlier satellites, he termed the mission a major turning point.
“BlueBird 6 is a breakthrough moment for AST SpaceMobile. This mission validates years of US innovation and manufacturing and marks our transition to scaled deployment,” Avellan said. He added that the satellite’s successful placement in orbit brings the company closer to delivering space-based cellular broadband directly to standard smartphones worldwide.
AST SpaceMobile operates nearly 500,000 square feet of manufacturing and operations facilities globally and employs over 1,800 people. It is supported by a technology portfolio comprising more than 3,800 patents and patent-pending claims.
The company has agreements with over 50 mobile network operators serving nearly three billion subscribers and maintains strategic partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, American Tower, Bell and stc Group, Avellan said.
