Jennifer Manner, SVP/Regulatory Affairs at AST SpaceMobile, told a Congress Committee (the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy & Commerce) that the satellite Direct-to-Cell business would launch between 45 and 60 of its second-generation BlueBird 2 satellites during 2026.

She confirmed that the satellites were under manufacture at its two factories (in Maryland and Florida), and at the rate of six per month.

There are two AST satellites with near-imminent launches. The first launch (FM-1) will happen on an Indian rocket around December 21st-22nd. A second satellite (FM-2) is reported to be ready for launch “as early as January” and certainly in early 2026 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

“As part of its proactive efforts to secure sufficient launches for its satellite constellation on an expedited basis, AST SpaceMobile was able to secure an accelerated launch slot capable of launching a BlueBird satellite as early as January 2026,” the company told the FCC in a formal filing earlier in December.

AST also has launches booked with Jeff Bezos-backed New Glenn rockets.

The operator has told the FCC that it will have 243 of its BlueBird satellites in orbit by the end of 2028. AST needs 90 satellite in orbit for a true global service. It has some heavyweight telco partners waiting for services to start including AT&T, Verizon, Rakuten and Vodafone.

Other posts by :

1. AST SpaceMobile: “Good for indoor reception”
2. EchoStar booms on SpaceX holding
3. Norway wants a satellite constellation
4. Crossroads backs AST SpaceMobile
5. FCC examines SpaceX’s 15,000 sat-constellation plan
6. EchoStar: “Severe uncertainty” led to spectrum sales
7. Netflix gets downgrade on Warner Bros move
8. UK trims Orbex investment
9. Euro-bank sets up €500m space fund

Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, rakuten, satellite, Vodafone