The BlueWalker 3 was launched in September on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
Satellite designer and manufacturer AST SpaceMobile has shared that its direct-to-cell satellite, the BlueWalker 3, which launched in September on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, has been successfully deployed. The update is considered a critical step in delivering space-powered 5G broadband service.
The satellite has a 693-square-foot antenna, which is the largest array that has ever been deployed in low Earth orbit, according to AST SpaceMobile. The BlueWalker 3 is AST’s second test satellite and is just a taste of the 168 satellites, called BlueBirds, the company is hoping to ultimately launch. AST says it can build up to six of these satellites a month at its Texas manufacturing facility, and that global coverage should be reached once about 110 are in orbit.
“Every person should have the right to access cellular broadband, regardless of where they live or work,” AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said in a statement. “Our goal is to close the connectivity gaps that negatively impact billions of lives around the world.”
Previously, Avellan described this problem as of one of “digital ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’” He continued: “This revolutionary technology supports our mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by more than 5 billion mobile subscribers today moving in and out of coverage, and bring cellular broadband to approximately half of the world’s population who remain unconnected.”
AST expects to perform software and network core testing and optimization while the satellite is in operation.
AST SpaceMobile is just one of several companies working on non-terrestrial network (NTN) telecommunications solutions. NTN solutions include satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and high altitude platforms (HAPS) such as balloons or drones.
