AST SpaceMobile reported its next-generation BlueBird 7 satellite was launched on Blue Origin’s New Glenn 3 mission but was inserted into a lower-than-planned orbit, which led to the loss of the bird.

The direct-to-device (D2D) player stated Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket placed the BlueBird 7’s orbit too low to sustain operations using its on-board thruster technology.

During yesterday’s (19 April) launch, the satellite separated and powered up successfully but lacked sufficient altitude to sustain operations with its onboard thrusters. It will now re-enter the atmosphere.

AST SpaceMobile expects the cost of the satellite will be recovered under its insurance policy.

The BlueBird 7 featured a near 2,400 square foot array and is expected to provide data rates exceeding 120Mb/s.

The company highlighted the equipment employs more than 3,800 patented and patent-pending technologies. The next-generation birds are designed to support full 4G and 5G broadband speeds, including voice, data, and video services.

BlueBird 7 would have been the company’s eighth satellite deployed to low Earth orbit as part of its planned space-based D2D network.

AST SpaceMobile said it is currently in production through BlueBird 32, with BlueBirds 8 through 10 expected to be ready to ship in about 30 days from its Texas facility.

The company expects an orbital launch cadence of roughly every one to two months during 2026, supported by agreements with multiple launch providers. It continues to target approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026.

Analysts’ take
The failure of Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin’s first commercial launch for its new rocket is a setback for the company.

AST SpaceMobile primarily relied on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to launch its birds into orbit before attempting to branch out to the larger New Glenn models.

Quilty Space founder and CEO Chris Quilty told Mobile World Live (MWL) AST’s satellites are manufactured on a production line, “implying minimal impact on the deployment cadence” going forward.

“The biggest impact is on launch cadence,” he said. “New Glenn is unlikely to fly for three to six months while they perform a root cause analysis and remediation.”

Tim Farrar, an analyst at TMF Associates, told MWL it is likely the Blue Origin launches will be delayed.

“That’s a problem if AST was planning to rely primarily on New Glenn this year,” he said. “The company statement talks about shipping three more satellites in a month’s time, [but] it doesn’t say when they will be launched or which rocket will be used.

“Targeting 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year is reminiscent of last summer when they were targeting the launch of up to 20 satellites by the end of 2025.”

Source: Mobil World Live