AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird #6 is due to launch on December 24th on an India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket. But news has emerged that many of the follow-on satellite fleet are now firmly in production.

Production of satellites 8-to-19 were known about. That portfolio has now been extended to a total of 25 of these ‘second generation’ Block 2 satellites which are “in various stages of assembly, integration, and testing”.

There are also reports that BlueBird #7 has left the factory at Midland, Texas and is heading to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in readiness for launch in the New Year. AST has frequently said that it is targeting the launch of 45-60 craft during 2026.

As to the Indian launch (officially LVM3-M6), it is scheduled for 08.54 am (India Standard time/03.24 am UTC on Dec 24th) and will be placed into a Low Earth Orbit and will be the largest-ever commercial communications satellite to be deployed into Low Earth Orbit. It will also be the heaviest payload to be launched by LVM3 from Indian soil.

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Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, BlueBird, ISRO