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AST SpaceMobile chooses Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets for satellite launches

AST SpaceMobile plans to use Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to launch some of the satellites for its space-based cellular broadband network in 2025 and 2026.

New Glenn has been under development at Jeff Bezos’ privately held space venture for more than a decade. Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin says the orbital-class rocket’s first launch is “on track” to take place this year at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Texas-based AST SpaceMobile is one of several satellite companies that have struck deals for New Glenn launches in advance of the rocket’s first mission.

“New Glenn’s performance and unprecedented capacity within its seven-meter fairing enables us to deploy more of our Block 2 BlueBird satellites in orbit, helping provide continuous cellular broadband service coverage across some of the most in-demand cellular markets globally,” Abel Avellan, AST SpaceMobile’s founder, chairman and CEO, said in a news release. 

“It’s an honor to support AST SpaceMobile’s deployment of their next-generation BlueBird satellites, which will expand connectivity across the globe and positively impact many lives,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said. “New Glenn is purpose-built for these kinds of innovative and ambitious missions.”

AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird network is designed to operate directly with everyday smartphones and allow seamless switching between terrestrial cell towers and satellite signals, depending on location and coverage needs. The company’s strategic investors include AT&T, Verizon, Google and Vodafone, and it’s said to have agreements with more than 45 mobile network operators globally.

The Block 2 BlueBirds have communications arrays that cover as much as 2,400 square feet when they’re unfolded, which would make them the largest commercial satellites ever deployed in low Earth orbit.

AST SpaceMobile plans to use New Glenn as well as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and India’s GSLV rocket to deploy up to 60 satellites in the 2025-2026 time frame. Thanks to New Glenn’s super-sized fairing, each Blue Origin launch could send as many as eight Block 2 BlueBirds to low Earth orbit.

“We have now contractually secured orbital launch capacity during 2025 and 2026 to enable continuous cellular broadband service coverage of the AST SpaceMobile network,” the company’s president, Scott Wisniewski, said in a news release. He said AST Space Mobile was “well-positioned” to reach its goal of providing service to hundreds of millions of users around the world, and to the U.S. government.

AST SpaceMobile faces competition in the low-Earth-orbit satellite telecom market from SpaceX’s Starlink network (which has a cellular deal with T-Mobile) and Eutelsat’s OneWeb network. Next year, Amazon’s Project Kuiper network is due to join the fray. For what it’s worth, Project Kuiper also has reserved New Glenn rockets, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets have been tasked with sending up satellites for Starlink, Kuiper and OneWeb.