All articles tagged with #ast spacemobile
AST SpaceMobile announced the successful orbital launch of BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9, with the 2,400-square-foot arrays enabling direct-to-smartphone cellular broadband and paving the way for commercial service, while upcoming BlueBirds 11–13 and next-generation satellites remain in production.
SpaceX launched three Block 2 BlueBird satellites (BlueBird 8, 9, 10) for AST SpaceMobile on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, deploying BlueBird 10 about 54.5 minutes after liftoff and the other two roughly five minutes apart; booster B1077 landed on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' marking another SpaceX booster recovery, while the trio aims to enable space-based broadband for unmodified smartphones around the world.
Blue Origin’s pad explosion accelerates SpaceX’s default position on NASA’s launch manifest, opening a window for five US space contractors to benefit: Rocket Lab as a near-term Falcon 9 rival with its Neutron program; AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites riding Falcon 9; Lockheed Martin’s Artemis program role; Northrop Grumman’s GEM motors and HALO lunar hardware; and Intuitive Machines’ CLPS lunar payloads. With SpaceX not being publicly traded, investors are eyeing these proxy plays to ride the evolving space economy while cautioning that the rest of the Street may soon reprice these bets.
AST SpaceMobile says Blue Origin’s launchpad explosion will delay its direct-to-smartphone satellite constellation by 3–6 months, pushing initial commercial services into the first half of 2027; the company plans to rely on multiple launch providers, including SpaceX and ULA’s Vulcan.
Virgin Galactic fell about 32% after preliminary court approval of a shareholder derivative settlement reignited dilution fears tied to its capital realignment plan, while AST SpaceMobile rose ~10% on reaffirmed FY2026 guidance and planned Falcon 9 launches, and Planet Labs advanced ~9% on strong revenue and growing remaining performance obligations.
Virgin Galactic's shares tumbled about 32% after a preliminary shareholder-derivative settlement reignited concerns about dilution tied to its capital-realignment plan, while AST SpaceMobile rose about 10% on reaffirmed FY2026 revenue guidance and upcoming Falcon 9 satellite launches, and Planet Labs climbed roughly 9% on solid revenue and rising remaining obligations, illustrating a split in space-stock trading between company-specific catalysts and broader sector momentum.
Blue Origin says New Glenn will fly again by year-end 2026 after an explosion at Launch Complex 36; critical infrastructure survived (fuel/oxidizer storage and water tower), with the main support tower damaged but repairable and the booster 'Never Tell Me The Odds' plus three GS-2 upper stages appearing undamaged. NASA clarified that a prior 2028 remark referred to lunar missions, not New Glenn. Space names rebounded in after-hours trading, led by ASTS, RKLB, SIDU, and RDW as investors price in a quicker return-to-flight, while RKTO and other space stocks showed notable moves and sentiment remains bullish for launch-dependent players like AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab, Sidus Space and Redwire.
Virgin Galactic jumped about 18% on momentum from Blue Origin setbacks and progress toward flight testing, while AST SpaceMobile slid roughly 9% after a Q1 revenue miss. Rocket Lab dropped around 13% despite beating earnings and maintaining a large backlog, as investors rotate away from launch-exposed names into Virgin Galactic. The space-stock divergence widens, driven more by sentiment than fundamentals, with upcoming catalysts like Blue Origin findings and Rocket Lab’s Neutron/BlueBird milestones to watch.
The article highlights the biggest premarket movers, including Dell Technologies, HP, AST SpaceMobile, and Gap, with additional names contributing to activity before the market opens.
AST SpaceMobile said it may launch some of its direct-to-device satellites on ULA’s Vulcan rocket to broaden its launch options, joining SpaceX and Blue Origin in its plans. The company still targets about 45 satellites in orbit by year’s end, but no Vulcan contract has been announced and Vulcan’s own launch backlog (plus an SRB anomaly investigation) could limit near-term availability; meanwhile, a mid-June Falcon 9 launch for AST’s BlueBirds 8–10 is planned as New Glenn launches remain paused following the recent failure.
Blue Origin's NG-3 mission achieved a successful booster landing, but an upper-stage thrust anomaly prevented the second burn from placing AST SpaceMobile's Bluebird 7 satellite into the planned orbit, leaving the satellite in an off-nominal orbit and ultimately deemed lost. The FAA has grounded New Glenn while Blue Origin investigates the issue, and the incident casts uncertainty over the rocket's 2026 launch cadence. Despite the mishap, the company aims to continue flights and pursue milestones like the Blue Moon lunar landers, with NASA and industry partners expressing cautious optimism about ongoing programs.
Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket (NG-3) failed to deliver AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to the planned low-Earth orbit after an upper-stage engine underperformed; the booster safely landed on the droneship, but the satellite's altitude was too low to operate and will be deorbited. The FAA will oversee the Blue Origin-led investigation, with Blue Origin cooperating and reporting on corrective actions, while NASA's administrator noted that this setback will inform future Artemis-related efforts.
AST SpaceMobile’s satellite launched on a Blue Origin booster ended up in an inoperable, too-low orbit and will be de-orbited; its cost is expected to be recovered under insurance, marking a setback to AST’s plan to deploy about 45 satellites by 2026 to offer space-based broadband amid Starlink competition, with the stock dropping about 7% in early trading.
The FAA has grounded Blue Origin’s New Glenn after its second stage placed AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite into a lower-than-planned orbit; the booster landed safely, but the satellite cannot operate and will be de-orbited. Authorities have offered few details, Space Force data is inconclusive about what’s in orbit, and a return-to-flight timeline has not been provided.
AST SpaceMobile’s stock fell about 9% after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket placed the BlueBird 7 satellite in a lower-than-planned orbit and the satellite was later deemed lost. Insurance will cover the loss, and AST still plans monthly launches in 2026 with satellites 8–10 ready to ship. Analysts say the financial impact should be limited, but investor sentiment is now more closely tied to Blue Origin’s trajectory, potentially complicating AST’s goal of 45 satellites by year-end.