AST SpaceMobile puts BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10 in orbit on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral
Three Block 2 direct-to-cell satellites launched successfully, per AST's release; the prior BlueBird 7 was lost in May.
what happened
AST SpaceMobile announced the successful orbital launch of its BlueBird 8, 9 and 10 Block 2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, per the company's release, with deployment confirmed after the June 17 launch. Per Spaceflight Now, the mission followed the loss of BlueBird 7 on Blue Origin's New Glenn about two months earlier, a loss AST disclosed in its Q1 SEC filing. AST's release states no new total count of operational satellites.
why it matters
AST's direct-to-device buildout is back to adding capacity after losing a satellite to the New Glenn failure, and the choice of Falcon 9 for this batch underlines how launch-provider risk now shapes the direct-to-cell race with Starlink. The Block 2 BlueBirds are the commercial-scale hardware AST's carrier partners are waiting on.
for who
Mobile network operators with AST deals, direct-to-device competitors
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- AST SpaceMobile, SpaceX
- Category
- constellation
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-06-17
- Published
- 2026-07-08 13:17 UTC