SpaceX launches AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites for future direct-to-cell communications

Hoping for a liftoff amid dreary weather, dozens of AST SpaceMobile executives and shareholders gathered during the wee hours Thursday at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to watch a milestone event in their quest to create a space-based broadband network for smartphones.

Mission successful. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 4:52 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, lifting the company's first five BlueBird communications satellites into low-Earth orbit for future testing.

"It's direct-to-cell, and that's the beauty of the solution. The eventual customers will be anybody who has a cellphone — which is just about every American. And you go around the world, and the vast majority of people have cellphones, too," said Chris Sambar, AT&T's head of network.

"It'll be a mass-market solution for both consumers and business customers, and it'll enable them to get connectivity. And not just texting, like you can get now on some devices. Not just voice calling. But this will actually be full data service. And you'll be able to get it in all of those places today where the cell sites don't cover," Sambar said.

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AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have worked together since 2018 to launch direct-to-cell service, and the companies entered a joint commercial agreement in May. Sambar joined the AST SpaceMobile board of directors the following month, and Verizon has signed on as a second major U.S. partner.

The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron had only predicted 30% odds of "go for launch" weather during Thursday's four-hour BlueBird launch window, citing a variety of meteorological concerns including cumulus clouds, thick cloud layers, surface electric fields and low-to-moderate risk of solar activity.

After soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster triggered twin sonic booms by returning for landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station 7½ minutes after liftoff.

In September 2022, nearly two years ago to the day, AST SpaceMobile launched its initial BlueWalker 3 prototype satellite from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Deployed in orbit, each BlueBird satellite will boast communications arrays measuring 693 square feet.

“Completing the manufacturing, assembly, and environmental testing for these satellites represents a significant milestone in our mission to bridge the digital divide and deliver connectivity to those who need it most," AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said in a July press release.

"We are eager to see these pioneering satellites take flight and begin laying the foundation for our global cellular broadband network," Avellan said.

Sambar did not provide a customer service target launch date.

"There'll be successive launches in the coming years. They're in the process of building the next 17 satellites right now. They construct these out in Midland, Texas, so those will be going up relatively quickly after this in the coming months," Sambar said.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space .

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com . Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites for future direct-to-cell communications