The Block 2 BlueBirds will launch in late February from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a Blue Origin New Glenn launch vehicle
Launch date: AST SpaceMobile schedules launch of BlueBird 7 for late February, as it prepares to roll out beta service with AT&T in the first half of 2026.
Bigger and better: The new generation of BlueBird satellites is approximately 2,400 square feet large, and delivers up to 120 Mbps speed, according to the company.
A heavy deployment cadence: AST is on track to deploy 45-60 satellites by the end of this year, with launches planned every 1 to 2 months.
AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 is set to launch end of February. The company announced this week that the satellites will lift off from the Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Bezos-backed Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicle.
BlueBird 7 is part of AST’s second-generation BlueBird satellites. BlueBird 1 to 5 which made up the first generation were launched in September, 2024. Those satellites will now work in tandem with the newer models to deliver global coverage, the company said.
The next-gen BlueBird satellites, starting with BlueBird 6 which launched in December, 2025, are engineered to deliver direct-to-device connectivity, advancing AST’s commitment to “connect the unconnected.” The company positions its service for both commercial and government applications.
“This launch advances our mission to bring space-based cellular broadband connectivity to everyday smartphones as we progress towards launching commercial services in 2026,” President, Scott Wisniewski, said in a statement.
AST is working alongside AT&T’s FirstNet to bring to market a beta service in the first half of 2026, followed by the commercial launch. Although the date of general availability of the beta service is not known yet, FirstNet’s president Agnew Scott told RCR Wireless News that the initial service will be available to only a select group of commercial users and first responders.
AST aims to do more with less
At MWC Barcelona last year, CEO Abel Avellan said that 45 BlueBird satellites will be sufficient to allow AST to commercially launch an initial service in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. But that number will grow as it aims to deliver continuous service.
Through 2026, the service provider plans to carry out orbital launches every one to two months, with the goal to reach 45 to 60 satellites by the year end. Each New Glenn launcher is expected to accommodate 8 BlueBird satellites per launch.
A key feature of the BlueBird is its size. Avellan said, “These satellites are very large…You can actually see them when they fly.”
Indeed, the first block of BlueBirds featured massive 693-square-foot arrays, which AST described as “the largest commercial arrays ever deployed.” However, they don’t hold a candle to the newer satellites. BlueBird 6 and 7 stand at 2,400 square feet — approximately 3 times the size of the earlier version. “They have the capacity to process 10 GHz of spectrum and reuse it across 2400 Km of area,” he said.
However, compared to Starlink whose parent company SpaceX has over 9,000 active satellites in orbit — with regulatory approval for 7,500 more — this is a much lighter load. But AST’s plan is not to compete in fleet size. In fact, it plans to send far fewer satellites — and that’s the reason why its assets are made extra-large. The satellites can generate powerful beams and efficiently catch weak signals from smartphones down below. So even in small numbers, they can make up for the physical distance with the devices on Earth with their oversized antennas.
AST promises data rates of up to 120 Mbps for voice, data, and streaming. However, given the tighter constellation size, this may be an issue as more users will be sharing each band leading to reduced throughput.
