(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)
In the race to deliver satellite-to-phone connectivity, AST SpaceMobile has announced it’ll use Blue Origin’s massive rocket, New Glenn, to send up its latest satellite next month.
The plan is to launch AST’s massive BlueBird 7 satellite, also known as FM2, sometime in “late February," the company said on Thursday.
The news is notable because AST SpaceMobile is betting it can use New Glenn to carry up to eight BlueBird satellites in future flights. The increased capacity promises to help the Texas startup launch between 45 to 60 satellites by the end of 2026; enough for the company to supply continuous cell coverage from space to users through partners such as AT&T and Verizon.
Thus far, New Glenn has only completed two successful flights, and only one landed the reusable booster. Blue Origin says the AST launch will happen "no earlier than late February"; rocket launches are routinely pushed back due to weather or testing-related setbacks.
Tapping Blue Origin is a high-stakes gamble, but if successful, it would help AST compete with SpaceX, which is already delivering satellite-to-phone connectivity through its cellular Starlink system. SpaceX’s offering, available through T-Mobile as T-Satellite, can already power video calls, messaging, and select apps in cellular dead zones. But the bandwidth remains constrained. Meanwhile, AST is promising superior service with “peak speeds of 120Mbps per coverage cell,” thanks to each BlueBird satellite's massive antennas. (That said, SpaceX is planning its own upgrades, slated to debut in 2027.)
(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)The company’s second-generation BlueBird spans 2,400 square feet when the antenna is fully deployed. The first second-gen BlueBird flew up last month on a rocket from India’s space agency after multiple delays.
AST investors are now hoping the company can successfully launch more BlueBirds through New Glenn on schedule. The company also told the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month: "AST SpaceMobile expects four more orbital launches by the end of Q1 2026, with additional launches occurring every one to two months on average to reach 45-60 satellites launched by the end of 2026."
In a bit of irony, AST also uses SpaceX for satellite launches. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the first BlueBird satellites into orbit in September 2024, but New Glenn is expected to carry twice as much capacity as a Falcon 9 rocket.