{"id":196511,"date":"2025-10-13T06:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196511\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T06:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:39:08","slug":"bluebird-6-and-7-cleared-for-launch-as-ast-spacemobile-prepares-major-deployment-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196511\/","title":{"rendered":"BlueBird 6 And 7 Cleared For Launch As AST SpaceMobile Prepares Major Deployment Push"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has confirmed that its latest satellites, BlueBird 6 and BlueBird 7, have completed assembly and final testing and are now cleared for launch<\/a>. A Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo plane will arrive in Midland this weekend to transport the pair to their respective launch sites, signalling the start of the company\u2019s next major campaign.<\/p>\n

Expanding The BlueBird Fleet<\/p>\n

BlueBird 6 will begin a long journey on 12th October, departing aboard the massive Antonov aircraft for India. Bluebird 7 will travel to Cape Canaveral later in the month to prepare for launch.<\/p>\n

Related: Kongsberg Geospatial Joins Forces With NordSpace To Boost Canada\u2019s Rapid Launch Ambitions<\/a><\/p>\n

Building A Global Satellite Network<\/p>\n

AST SpaceMobile\u2019s broader mission is to create a space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones. The company is currently producing BlueBirds 8 through 16, with launches planned every one to two months through 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

By early 2026, the manufacturer aims to complete 40 phased arrays, reaching BlueBird 46. In total, between 45 and 60 satellites are expected to be in orbit by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

Powering Connectivity For Billions<\/p>\n

Each BlueBird satellite will be among the largest ever deployed in low-Earth orbit<\/a>, boasting a 2,400-square-foot phased array capable of direct-to-cell broadband. The satellites will handle up to 10,000 MHz of processing bandwidth, delivering peak speeds of up to 120 Mbps per cell.<\/p>\n

AST SpaceMobile has already partnered with more than 50 mobile network operators serving nearly 3 billion subscribers worldwide. The system combines the company\u2019s own licensed spectrum with that of its partners to maximise flexibility and coverage.<\/p>\n

A Milestone Toward Global Broadband<\/p>\n

This latest progress marks another milestone for AST SpaceMobile\u2019s vision of providing seamless mobile connectivity across the globe. As the BlueBird constellation continues to expand, the dream of true direct-to-phone broadband from space moves closer to becoming a reality.<\/p>\n

\"\" Published by Kerry Harrison<\/p>\n

Kerry\u2019s been writing professionally for over 14 years, after graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Canterbury Christ Church University. She joined Orbital Today in 2022. She covers everything from UK launch updates to how the wider space ecosystem is evolving. She enjoys digging into the detail and explaining complex topics in a way that feels straightforward. Before writing about space, Kerry spent years working with cybersecurity companies. She\u2019s written a lot about threat intelligence, data protection, and how cyber and space are increasingly overlapping, whether that’s satellite security or national defence. With a strong background in tech writing, she\u2019s used to making tricky, technical subjects more approachable. That mix of innovation, complexity, and real-world impact is what keeps her interested in the space sector.<\/p>\n

All posts by Kerry Harrison<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has confirmed that its latest satellites, BlueBird 6 and BlueBird 7, have completed assembly and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[50,90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-196511","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-space","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}