Blue Origin and AST SpaceMobile Announce Multi-Year Launch Agreement

(Kent, Washington & Midland, Texas) Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and SpaceX rival and partner AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) today announced a multi-launch service agreement – in addition to AST’s launch agreements with existing launch vehicle providers – for AST launches during 2025 and 2026; the orbital launch capacity secured by said launches will enable continuous space-based cellular broadband service coverage via AST in key markets, including the United States, Europe and Japan, among others, per AST.

Photo provided in Blue Origin’s afternoon press release, courtesy of Blue Origin.

Specifically, per AST’s earnings call transcript, its agreements enable the orbital launch of up to approximately 60 Block 2 BlueBird satellites. The announcement from AST came as the company reported an earnings miss, with a loss of $1.10 per share, widening from a loss of 23 cents per share last year, per Investor’s Business Day (IBD). AST’s revenue came in at $1.1 million.

On September 12th, AST successfully launched its first five commercial BlueBird satellites with its partner SpaceX, which unfolded and completed deployment at the end of October, according to IBD. Reports hold that AST SpaceMobile could eventually include 168 satellites in its constellation, per IBD – the satellites have some overlap and competition with SpaceX subsidiary Starlink.

Blue Origin’s forthcoming AST launches will take place on its New Glenn rocket, and will occur over the multi-year period from Blue Origin’s Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to this afternoon’s press release from Blue Origin.

“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,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, AST SpaceMobile. 
 
Blue Origin’s CEO, David Limp, commented: “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. New Glenn is purpose-built for these kinds of innovative and ambitious missions.”

Per Blue Origin, New Glenn’s first launch is on track to occur this year, and could potentially fly later this month. The rocket stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) tall and is named after John Glenn, the first person to orbit Earth, and its seven-meter fairing enables twice the payload volume of any five-meter class commercial launch system, according to Blue Origin.

New Glenn’s reusable first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 missions and is powered by seven Blue Origin BE-4 engines, which comprise the most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engines ever flown. The rocket’s second stage is powered by two BE-3U engines, and each BE-3U generates 160,000 lbf of thrust in vacuum, according to Blue Origin (the company also manufactures BE-7 engines for its Blue Moon lunar landers and New Shepard’s BE-3PM engine).  

Photo of New Glenn’s stages 1 and 2 being ‘stacked’ in Blue Origin’s facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, courtesy of Blue Origin on Instagram @blueorigin.

Per this afternoon’s press release from AST SpaceMobile, AST is building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones and designed for both commercial and government applications.

Per AST: “The next-generation Block 2 BlueBirds are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird satellites in orbit today, accelerating the goal to achieve 24/7 continuous cellular broadband service coverage. The service will target approximately 100% U.S. nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells, with beams designed to support a capacity of up to 40 MHz, enabling peak data transmission speeds up to 120 Mbps, supporting voice, full data and video applications. The Block 2 BlueBirds, featuring up to 2,400 square foot communications arrays, will be the largest ever commercially deployed in low Earth orbit once launched, surpassing the current record held by AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 1-5 and BlueWalker 3, each ~700 square feet in size.”

The Block 2 BlueBirds are designed to be compatible with all major launch vehicles, per AST. Blue Origin’s launch vehicle, the New Glenn, offers a seven-meter fairing enabling twice the payload volume of five-meter class commercial launch systems, and is therefore well-suited to launching up to 8 of the largest-ever Block 2 BlueBirds, as explained in AST’s press release.

Throughout 2024, SpaceMobile secured additional strategic investment from AT&T, Verizon, Google and Vodafone, and new contract awards with the United States Government, directly and through prime contractors, per AST.

AST agreements with more than 45 mobile network operators globally, which have over 2.8 billion existing subscribers total, including Vodafone Group, AT&T, Verizon, Rakuten Mobile, Bell Canada, Orange, Telefonica, TIM, Saudi Telecom Company, Zain KSA, Etisalat, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Telkomsel, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Millicom, Smartfren, Telecom Argentina, MTN, Telstra, Africell, Liberty Latin America and others. Per AST, AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Google, Rakuten, American Tower, Cisneros Group and Bell Canada are also existing investors in AST SpaceMobile.

Post-AST’s earnings call, shares of ASTS are down ~ 10.75% in after-market trading, at $23.92, as of the time of publication of this article.

**Not investment advice; The FLY Report is not a registered investment advisor.