(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)
UPDATE: AST SpaceMobile has clarified that FM1 is a second-generation BlueBird satellite. "The FCC filing describes our Block 2 satellite design; this satellite will launch with ISRO and is scheduled in Q2 this year," the company tells us.
Although AST is requesting FCC clearance to launch the satellite under an experimental authority, the company is signaling it'll try to use FM-1 for commercial activities, pending regulatory approval. The company's request to the FCC notes it's going to formally apply for FM-1 to become the sixth satellite of its emerging constellation, which would give it the capability to beam data over AT&T's and Verizon's licensed radio bands.
Original story:
AST SpaceMobile—a rival to SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system—is requesting permission to launch a new prototype satellite that differs from the company’s original plans.
On Friday, AST asked the FCC for experimental authority to launch and operate an "FM1" satellite. At first glance, it appears to be a second-generation BlueBird satellite. The FM1 and second-gen BlueBird satellites are both 223 square meters, or about three times larger than first-gen BlueBirds, which launched in September and have successfully powered demo video calls.
AST envisions launching dozens of second-generation BlueBirds to deliver satellite connectivity to consumer phones by 2026. But according to the FCC filing, the company only wants to launch one FM1 satellite “for a testing and demonstration mission” in Earth’s low orbit at 520 kilometers.
In addition, the FM1 is designed to harness radio spectrum in the lesser used “V-Bands,” rather than the cellular frequencies for AT&T and Verizon, AST's key partners. The FCC filing also notes that “FM1 will conduct a testing and demonstration mission critical to initiating services for the company’s commercial and Department of Defense customers,” after AST secured a $43 million contract from the US Space Force.
Still, the FM1 raises questions about how it fits into AST’s plans since this is the first we're hearing about it. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Friday, a spokesperson told us the company is still slated to launch the first block of second-generation BlueBird satellites in Q2 through the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)“These satellites are approximately 2,400 sq ft in size (223 square meters), providing 100 times larger capacity than BlueWalker 3 and 10 times larger than the first block of BlueBird satellites,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Last week, an Indian media outlet also reported that ISRO plans on launching the satellites in May.
But it’s possible things may be changing. AST’s spokesperson also noted: “The exact launch timeframe is contingent on a number of factors, including the final normal course of testing the satellites, regulatory approvals, confirmation of the final launch date by the launch provider, logistics, weather conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.”
The FCC filing about the FM1 also suggests it’ll act as a prototype to help the company iron out potential design issues due to the massive size of the second-generation BlueBirds.
“Specifically, FM1 will allow AST SpaceMobile to test the satellite’s architecture and function of its mechanical systems,” the company wrote in the filing. “FM1 will be physically larger than the BB1s and deploy via an unfolding process that will enable the spacecraft to extend its solar arrays and antenna. The instant test will evaluate various mechanical components and subsystems of the new platform, including mechanisms and firmware employed to unfold the FM1’s phased array antenna.”
The same filing also says AST plans on launching the FM1 from India in June.
AST also still needs approval from the FCC to commercially launch and operate its second-generation BlueBird satellites in the US, but no application has even been filed. Not helping the matter is that FCC clearance can potentially take more than a year.
Friday’s filing, if granted, would only give AST authority to test the FM1. Still, the company noted in the application that it “plans to file a further modification application" to receive commercial clearance to operate 248 satellites for satellite-to-phone connectivity. AST has asked the FCC to grant experimental authority for FM1 "no later than April 21, 2025."