AST SpaceMobile $ASTS signs an updated agreement with SpaceX to launch the company's first five BlueBird satellites:
On February 3, 2023, AST & Science LLC, a subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Launch Services Agreement (the “2023 Launch Agreement”) with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (“SpaceX”) relating to the launch of the first five Block 1 BlueBird satellites. The 2023 Launch Agreement supersedes both the March 3, 2022 Multi-Launch Agreement and the March 3, 2022 BlueBird 1 Launch Services Agreement between the parties. The exact timing of the launch, which is expected to carry five Block 1 BlueBird satellites, is contingent on a number of factors, including satisfactory and timely completion of construction and testing and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control.
The Starship launch failure is good news for AST, which will probably be able to deploy it's sats long before SpaceX can launch Starlink V2 with telephone payloads.
SpaceX requires Starship to deploy Starlink V2 satellites with telephone payloads. Until and unless Starship is operational, there will be no telephone service from Starlink.Conversely, AST is launching on conventional rockets that are operational now.Which company do you think will get to market first?For telephone companies considering which satellite company to partner with, what will be impact of yesterday's failure?Full disclosure: I am a shareholder in a company that competes with AST and SpaceX.
Breaking news: Another world-first achievement for #ASTSpaceMobile! Using @ATT cellular spectrum, we connected everyday smartphones to our BlueWalker 3 test satellite and recorded 4G LTE download speeds of >10 Mbps. Read more about this historic feat here:
Just to clarify, SpaceX *can* launch Starlink Gen2 sats on F9. They can't support cellphones, though.
AST SpaceMobile $ASTS stock plunged as much as 30% in trading today after the company issued a response to an article published more than 2 weeks ago, which raised concerns about the company's burn rate and fundraising plans. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/27/stock-market-today-live-updates.htmlFrom the SEC filing:
Separately, AST also filed a supplementary prospectus to raise more funds through an offering of 12 million shares of common stock:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1780312/000149315223022654/form424b5.htm
This avionics stack is the flight "brain" of our Block 1 BlueBirds. It's designed to control a 693 sq ft array moving at 17,000 mph in low Earth orbit. We're designing and building these to last!! 🦾🤠🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
Absent further fundraising, it looks like AST SpaceMobile has about nine months of runway before running out money.
AST SpaceMobile to Provide Quarterly Business Update on August 14, 2023 and Provides Preliminary Financial Results for Second Quarter 2023August 1, 2023MIDLAND, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, today announced it will hold a quarterly business update conference call on Monday, August 14th at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). The company is also providing its preliminary estimated financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.AST SpaceMobile will be accepting questions from retail and institutional shareholders and management will answer select questions relating to AST SpaceMobile’s business and financial results on the conference call. Investors are encouraged to submit questions to [email protected] and will also be added to our Investor Relations mailing list.The call will be accessible via a live webcast on the Events page of AST SpaceMobile’s Investor Relations website at https://ast-science.com/investors/. An archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call.Second Quarter 2023 Preliminary Estimated Financial ResultsWe ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of approximately $191.5 millionWe expect our total operating expenses to be between $57.1 and $59.1 million for the second quarter of 2023, including $19.1 to $20.1 million of depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expenseAs of June 30, 2023, we have incurred approximately $156.9 million of capitalized property and equipment costs. This includes costs incurred in assembly, test, launch and deployment of the BlueWalker 3 (“BW3”) satellite which was ready for its intended use and started depreciating in April 2023; costs incurred for development of assembly, integration, and test facilities including purchases of assembly equipment; and purchases of satellite direct materials and antennasOur unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 are not yet available. The preliminary estimated financial results are management estimates based on currently available information and subject to completion of financial closing procedures as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. As a result, our actual results may vary materially from the preliminary estimated financial results included herein and will not be publicly available until we file our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. These estimates constitute “forward-looking statements” as described in “Forward-Looking Statements” below. Our independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP, has not reviewed, or performed any procedures with respect to these preliminary estimated financial results.
AST SpaceMobile Provides Second Quarter 2023 Business UpdateConfirmed historic space-based 4G LTE cellular broadband capabilities alongside AT&T, Vodafone and Nokia; and completed comprehensive interim financing packageAugust 14, 2023 04:15 PM Eastern Daylight TimeMIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, is providing its business update for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.“We are happy to announce the completion of a comprehensive financing package providing us up to $179 million of cash and liquidity”“AST SpaceMobile continues to make history. This quarter we achieved space-based 4G LTE cellular broadband capabilities to everyday smartphones, reaching speeds above 10 Mbps during BlueWalker 3 testing alongside AT&T, Vodafone and Nokia,” said Abel Avellan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “We are now laser-focused on the manufacturing of our BlueBird satellites. The first five satellites are fully-funded with a planned launch in Q1 2024 as we target to offer initial commercial service in 2024.”“On the back of the progress of our company technically, commercially and industrially, we have received multiple indications of interest for strategic investments with both equity-linked and non-dilutive commercial payments,” said Scott Wisniewski, Chief Strategy Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “Proceeds from this prospective capital raise are intended to fund the manufacturing and launch of additional BlueBird satellites launches beyond our first five commercial satellites.”“We are happy to announce the completion of a comprehensive financing package providing us up to $179 million of cash and liquidity,” said Sean Wallace, Chief Financial Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “This financing package is comprised of an up to $100 million Senior Secured Credit Facility and a $15 million Equipment-Backed Loan completed today, in addition to a $57 million previously announced common stock offering in June 2023 and $7 million raised under the ATM program during the second quarter of 2023.”Business UpdateHistory made, again, with space-based 4G LTE cellular broadband capabilities confirmed to everyday smartphones, reaching speeds above 10 Mbps during BlueWalker 3 testing alongside AT&T, Vodafone and NokiaContinued commercial and regulatory progress, with 40+ MOUs and agreements with mobile network operators globally that have ~2.4 billion subscribersBlock 1 BlueBird program is fully-funded, with manufacturing underway and ramping ahead of the planned launch in Q1 2024 of our first five commercial satellitesRaised cash and liquidity of up to $179 million, with a comprehensive financing package of non-dilutive debt and equity designed to support strategic investment processUp to $100 million Senior Secured Credit Facility with an initial gross draw of $48.5 million$15 million Equipment-Backed Loan$57 million of previously announced common stock offering in June 2023$7 million raised under the ATM program during the second quarter of 2023Received multiple indications of interest for strategic investment, including both equity-linked investments and non-dilutive commercial paymentsSecond Quarter 2023 Financial HighlightsAs of June 30, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $191.5 million. After June 30, 2023, added incremental cash and liquidity of up to $115 million from an up to $100 million Senior Secured Credit Facility with an initial gross draw of $48.5 million in gross proceeds and a $15 million Equipment-Backed Loan.Total Adjusted operating expenses for the second quarter of 2023 were $38.4 million, a decrease of $1.9 million as compared to $40.3 million in the first quarter of 2023, due to a $5.5 million decrease in research and development costs offset by a $3.3 million increase in Adjusted engineering services costs and a $0.3 million increase in Adjusted general and administrative costs.(1)As of June 30, 2023, we have incurred approximately $194.1 million of gross capitalized property and equipment costs and accumulated depreciation and amortization of $22.5 million. The capitalized costs include costs of our BlueWalker 3 satellite, assembly and integration facilities including assembly and test equipment, satellite materials, advance launch payments and ground antennas.(1) See reconciliation of Adjusted operating expenses to Total operating expenses, Adjusted engineering services costs to Engineering services costs and Adjusted general and administrative costs to General and administrative costs in the tables accompanying this press release.Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresWe refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, including Adjusted operating expenses, Adjusted engineering services costs and Adjusted general and administrative costs. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful measures across time in evaluating our operating performance as we use these measures to manage the business, including in preparing our annual operating budget and financial projections. These non-GAAP financial measures that have no standardized meaning prescribed by U.S. GAAP, and therefore have limits in their usefulness to investors. Because of the non-standardized definitions, these measures may not be comparable to the calculation of similar measures of other companies and are presented solely to provide investors with useful information to more fully understand how management assesses performance. These measures are not, and should not be viewed as, a substitute for their most directly comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the tables accompanying this press release.Conference Call InformationAST SpaceMobile will hold a quarterly business update conference call at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Monday, August 14, 2023. The call will be accessible via a live webcast on the Events page of AST SpaceMobile’s Investor Relations website at https://ast-science.com/investors/. An archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call.[…]
TAMPA, Fla. — Google and AT&T have joined a $155 million strategic investment in AST SpaceMobile, which is set to raise double that to help fund its direct-to-smartphone connectivity constellation.The strategic investment also includes funds from existing shareholder Vodafone, one of Europe’s largest telcos with a significant presence across Africa. It comes alongside AST SpaceMobile’s plans to draw up to $51.5 million from an existing debt facility and raise at least $100 million by selling discounted shares.The capital injection will support AST SpaceMobile’s ambitions to deploy commercial services this year as the venture prepares to start producing spacecraft that would be twice as big as its first five 1,500-kilogram operational BlueBird satellites, known as Block 1 and slated to launch on a dedicated SpaceX Falcon 9 before the end of March.AST SpaceMobile has said each follow-on Block 2 BlueBird would have 10 times more capacity than a Block 1 satellite to deliver more performance for the low Earth orbit constellation, designed to enable AT&T, Vodafone, and other terrestrial mobile network partners to keep subscribers connected outside cell tower coverage.
