Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has launched BlueBird 6, the first spacecraft in its next-generation LEO BlueBird satellite line, as the company works toward a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly with standard, unmodified smartphones.
This spacecraft is large, with a phased-array aperture that once deployed spans about 223 m². The company also says BlueBird 6 is roughly three times larger than its earlier BlueBird satellites, which are among the largest commercial communications spacecraft operating in low Earth orbit.
The BlueBird program follows AST SpaceMobile’s launch of BlueWalker 3, a prototype used to test the company’s “cell tower in space” concept. AST SpaceMobile also reported completing a 5G phone call from space to an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22, using that prototype spacecraft as part of its direct-to-device demonstrations. Since then, the company has launched five other satellites under the BlueBird name and says it ultimately intends to launch up to 243 more satellites into orbit.
The next-generation BlueBird satellites incorporate the company’s proprietary AST5000 ASIC and are designed to support 10 GHz of processing bandwidth per satellite, with peak performance of up to 120 Mb/s per cell and more than 2,000 active cells per satellite as the constellation grows. AST SpaceMobile has said it plans to launch 45 to 60 next-generation satellites by the end of the year, which it believes will enable 5G data service coverage across the U.S.