Over the holidays, teams are finalizing assembly tools for #BlueWalker3 in our 35,000-square-foot assembly room in Midland, Texas. Stay tuned for video of our crew in action to be released the first week of January. EyesCowboy hat faceFlag of United StatesRocket #ASTSpaceMobile #5G
AST SpaceMobile shared a look into the company’s satellite manufacturing plant in Midland, Texas in a video released Wednesday. National Geographic documentary host Jason Silva toured the facility with CEO Abel Avellan. The video did not show the full BlueWalker 3 satellite — the company said in recent quarterly update that the satellite is in the final integration and testing phase — but showed how antennas are assembled into microns, testing facilities, and the gateway antenna that will be onboard the satellite. AST SpaceMobile is building BlueWalker 3, which will be used to establish a space-to-cell network. The satellite is a massive 693-square-foot phased array, which must be folded up to fit into the launch vehicle fairing, and then unfurled in space.
$ASTS I made two writeups earlier on that antenna Abel tweeted today in its stowed configuration.Cool piece of kit.Video writeup:https://reddit.com/r/ASTSpaceMobile/comments/rwsni5/new_video_from_ast_showing_midland_facility/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmfAntenna writeup:https://reddit.com/r/ASTSpaceMobile/comments/ry9koa/ast_onboard_qv_backhaul_antenna_probably_has/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Always an interesting read from @CatSE___ApeX___ on $ASTS. This one includes a discussion on power, where the assumption is that each ASTS satellite will have 120 kW of power. This is interesting because power system drives both performance and costs. 1/
MIDLAND, 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 has signed a multi-launch agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (“SpaceX”). In addition to the planned summer launch of the BlueWalker 3 test satellite (BW3), the agreement covers the launch of the first BlueBird satellite and provides a framework for future launches.“This agreement secures the availability for a reliable launch of our first production satellites out of the U.S.,” said AST SpaceMobile Founder, Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan. “Our summer launch of BlueWalker 3 will complete the development phase for our company. We have also been industrializing our technology and preparing for the launch of the BlueBird satellites, with this agreement as a key step.”The BW3 satellite is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 vehicle. The satellite has an aperture of 693 square feet and is designed to communicate directly with cell phones via 3GPP standard frequencies.
According to an SEC filing, AST SpaceMobile is paying $22.75 million, which covers “technical adjustments” to its earlier BlueWalker 3 launch contract, initial payment for the first BlueBird launch and a reservation fee for a future BlueBird launch. https://sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1780312/000149315222006357/form8k.htm
AST SpaceMobile is expanding a launch deal with SpaceX for its cellphone-compatible broadband constellation, following a 2021 decision to move its upcoming BlueWalker-3 prototype mission from Russia’s now-embargoed Soyuz to a Falcon 9. BlueWalker-3 was booked on a Soyuz as a secondary payload but moved its reservation to Falcon 9 last August after Russia’s primary customer for the launch ran into delays, AST SpaceMobile chief strategy officer Scott Wisniewski told SpaceNews.Wisniewski said BlueWalker-3 is slated to fly with SpaceX “this summer” with other undisclosed passengers, while the primary payload for AST SpaceMobile’s canceled Soyuz reservation has yet to launch.
Our BlueWalker 3 test satellite is 693 square feet in size, designed to generate power from space, and deliver cellular broadband directly to your phone!
Looks identical to what those modern space based solar power concepts are like, but in miniature.
Cool, sandwich tiles like this is used in several Space Solar Power concepts, I was thinking if it can be used in communication satellite too. I wonder which method they'll use to solve the problem of having constant sunlight on the solar side.
@orange just signed an agreement with @AST_SpaceMobile to be a stakeholder in the project.@orange mobile phones will have connectivity through @AST_SpaceMobile satellites.
Our satellites compress into cubes, fit into Launch Vehicle Adapters, and are designed to deploy a very thin-profile phased array to provide cellular broadband from space. More than 1,600 patent and patent-pending claims to get here! 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀📦➡▦🌌 #ASTSpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile $ASTS Q4 results:Revenue: $6.2 millionTotal operating expenses: $31.3 millionCash: $324.5 million
.@AST_SpaceMobile: We're on track to launch this summer w/ @SpaceX even without @FCC license. Our constellation's debris/collision risk no greater than other LEO networks since we fly edge-on. https://bit.ly/3uJ7nAl
BW3 orbit seems to have switched from SSO to 53 degrees with a 400km insertion altitude.
AST SpaceMobile will start deploying operational satellites in 2023 “even in the event of any complication” with the BlueWalker 3 prototype slated to launch this summer, an executive for the cellphone-compatible broadband constellation said.<snip>The 1,500-kilogram BlueWalker 3 prototype, which AST SpaceMobile has said is significantly smaller than BlueBird, has a 64-square-meter phased array antenna designed to unfold in space to communicate with smartphones and other devices at broadband speeds.<snip>BlueWalker 3 is slated to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket with other passengers.AST SpaceMobile also has a contract with SpaceX for launching the first BlueBird in 2023. Their agreement provides a framework for ordering additional launches until the end of 2024, when AST SpaceMobile expects to have deployed 110 satellites to achieve “substantial global” mobile coverage.AST SpaceMobile remains open to using other launch providers for deploying its constellation, and has said more than one BlueBlird could fly on a heavy-lift vehicle.Avellan said during the company’s earnings call that AST SpaceMobile is on track to complete a second manufacturing facility in Texas by the end of 2022, which would enable the company to ramp up to producing six satellites a month the following year.
BlueWalker 3 end-to-end test conducted successfully this week. We also got the satellite fueled for our planned summer launch.
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, has confirmed it plans to launch its BlueWalker 3 test satellite from Cape Canaveral, FL during the week of August 15, 2022.
