AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile builds its BlueBird satellite phone network

Deploying its BlueBird constellation

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 3:42 a.m. on August 5, carrying three of the largest commercial antennas ever flown. Each one is meant to do a strange thing: give an ordinary smartphone a signal with no cell tower for hundreds of miles.

Updated Aug 9

AST SpaceMobile races to build a phone network in space

New Capabilities

Building and launching its constellation

Your phone needs a cell tower to work. AST SpaceMobile is trying to replace that tower with a satellite the size of a tennis court. On June 17, 2026, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried three of them to orbit from Cape Canaveral.

Updated Jun 17

Blue Origin proves New Glenn booster reuse, enters the reusable heavy-lift race

New Capabilities

BlueBird 7 declared total loss; ~$30M insurance recovery expected; ASTS shares fell >5%, erasing ~$2B market cap; reaffirmed 45-satellite 2026 target; BlueBirds 8–10 in production

Blue Origin flew a previously used New Glenn booster for the first time on April 19, 2026, becoming the second company ever to reuse an orbital-class rocket stage. The booster, 'Never Tell Me the Odds,' first flew in November 2025 and landed successfully again on the drone ship Jacklyn roughly ten minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. One engine on the expendable upper stage didn't produce enough thrust during its second burn, leaving AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 stranded in an orbit too low for the satellite's electric thrusters to correct.

Updated May 31

AST SpaceMobile

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AST SpaceMobile builds its BlueBird satellite phone network

AST SpaceMobile races to build a phone network in space

Blue Origin proves New Glenn booster reuse, enters the reusable heavy-lift race