AST SpaceMobile has confirmed that India’s Space Research Organisation will launch AST’s BlueBird 6 satellite on December 15th, subject to the usual weather and technical considerations. The launch will take place at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in India.

The launch kicks off a multi-provider orbital launch campaign by AST which is planning launches every one to two months on average to reach its target of 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by end of 2026.

BlueBird 6 is the first of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation satellites. When launched, it will feature the largest commercial phased array in low Earth orbit at nearly 2,400 square feet. This represents a claimed 3.5 times increase in size over BlueBirds 1-5 and supports – also claimed – 10 times the data capacity.

“Our next-generation satellites will soon enable ubiquitous cellular broadband coverage direct to everyday smartphones from space,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “As an American company, we are proud to demonstrate US leadership in space innovation while pioneering the next era of global connectivity.”

While this confirmation is undoubtedly good news for AST, the market is awaiting news on the launch of BB7 – expected by SpaceX – and then the larger numbers promised for next year.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, satllite, spacex