BlueBird 1-5 Mission Launched From Cape Canaveral
BlueBird 1-5 Mission Launched From Cape Canaveral
Delivers the Five Largest-Ever Commercial Communications Arrays Into LEO
The first five BlueBird commercial satellites were launched Thursday by AST SpaceMobile aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch took place at 4:52 am EDT, and all five payloads were deployed within 70 minutes following the launch.
“Mobile connectivity is a necessity no matter where you are. We are proud to be working with a trailblazer like AST SpaceMobile to create a more connected world.”
Mickey Mikitani, Rakuten Group
These large arrays of antennas are designed to reach standard smartphones directly at cellular broadband speeds for voice, data and video and other non-communications government applications. After launch, the BlueBird satellites are planned to offer non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States and in select markets globally.
The BlueBird satellites’ beams are designed to support a capacity of up to 40 MHz, enabling peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps. and will target approximately 100% nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells in the United States.
“This is an exciting next step to a future where our customers will only be hard to reach if they choose to be – giving them the power to go anywhere and the possibility to do anything while staying connected with just an everyday cell phone,” said Jeff McElfresh, Chief Operating Officer, AT&T. “This moment has been several years in the making, and I am proud of our teams’ work, in collaboration with AST SpaceMobile, to help make space-based connectivity a reality.”
“Today’s historic launch from Kennedy Space Center marks the next step in our shared mission of democratizing telecommunications,” said Mickey Mikitani, Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO. “Mobile connectivity is a necessity no matter where you are. We are proud to be working with a trailblazer like AST SpaceMobile to create a more connected world.”
This was the 13th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-6, O3b mPOWER, USSF-124, and nine Starlink missions.