Manufacturer
Avellan Space Technology and ScienceStarlink-62
9/11/2022
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) received an experimental license from the Federal Communications Commission to support U.S.-based testing of the BlueWalker 3 satellite.
BlueWalker 3 was developed at AST SpaceMobile’s facilities in Texas.
BlueWalker 3 will undergo final environmental testing at an off-site facility in California over the next few weeks to provide flight data for the launch at Cape Canaveral.
AST SpaceMobile will conduct testing worldwide with leading mobile network operators using BlueWalker 3 while leveraging Nokia's ground-based technology solutions.
AST SpaceMobile completed assembly and stowing of BlueWalker 3 over the summer at its Midland, Texas headquarters and manufacturing facility.
AST SpaceMobile will upload predicted trajectory information on an ongoing basis for its BlueWalker 3 test satellite and planned BlueBird satellites to Space-Track.org with the U.S. Space Force.
AST SpaceMobile made its first voice call in April using a standard smartphone and its BlueWalker 3 test satellite in LEO.
AST SpaceMobile achieved space-based 0.004 kg LTE cellular broadband connectivity to everyday smartphones during BlueWalker 3 testing with AT&T, Vodafone, and Nokia.
As of September 30, 2021, AST SpaceMobile had capitalized approximately $56.7 million of costs relating to the BlueWalker 3 test satellite and expected to incur an additional $10.0 to $12.0 million to complete the project.
AST SpaceMobile reached an agreement with GK Launch that resulted in AST switching from GK's Soyuz to a SpaceX rideshare for BlueWalker 3 and GK retaining $2.7 million from AST for use on a future GK launch.
AST SpaceMobile registered the BlueWalker 3 test satellite with the United Nations via the Spanish Ministry of Industry due to manufacturing activity by AST&Science Iberia, S.L.
AST SpaceMobile submitted a rebooking notice moving the BlueWalker 3 launch from the March–April 2022 window to a revised window targeting summer 2022.
AST SpaceMobile engineers placed a space-based 0.005 kg call from Maui, Hawaii to a Vodafone engineer in Madrid using AT&T spectrum and the BlueWalker 3 test satellite.
AST SpaceMobile plans a multi-launcher campaign averaging one orbital launch every one to two months during 2026.
AST SpaceMobile’s mission is to enable 4G and 5G space-based cellular broadband for billions of people globally without requiring any changes to mobile devices.
As SHIELD task orders are released and competed, AST SpaceMobile will seek opportunities to apply its commercial satellite capabilities to government-focused demonstrations and operational deployments.
AST SpaceMobile is developing on-orbit, dual-use satellite technology for both commercial connectivity and defense applications.
AST SpaceMobile spent more than $80,000,000 on the BlueWalker 3 program over several years.
AST SpaceMobile secured an experimental license from the Federal Communications Commission on 2022-05-02 to test BlueWalker 3 services in Hawaii and Texas.
AST SpaceMobile plans to launch the BlueWalker 3 test satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida during the week of 2022-08-15.