Story perspectives

AST SpaceMobile Launches 3 Satellites, Shares Jump 5%

6/18/2026

Summary

AST SpaceMobile Launches

AST SpaceMobile launched BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral at 2:39 a.m. ET on June 17 2026.
Each Block 2 satellite carries a 2,400-sq-ft array that delivers nearly 200 Mbps, about double Block 1’s 98.9 Mbps.
ASTS shares jumped 4.86% to $86.25 pre-market, after the company reported $70.9 million revenue, a $191 million loss, –$327 million free cash flow, $3.5 billion cash, and CTO and CFO sales of $3.85 million and $4.3 million.

Summary

AST Stacked Launch

AST SpaceMobile founder and CEO Abel Avellan said the first stacked launch of three BlueBird satellites starts a faster rollout.
BlueBird 11-13 will ship soon while BlueBird 37 is already in production.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster B1077 completed its 29th flight, showing high reuse for AST’s schedule.
AST is using SpaceX and, after a setback, Blue Origin to diversify launches while scaling cadence and manufacturing for global cellular broadband.

History

Historical Context

In November 1998 Iridium made its inaugural call, completing a 66-satellite low-Earth-orbit constellation that gave near-global voice coverage by 2002. After bankruptcy and a 2017-2019 Iridium NEXT replacement, the model proved LEO constellations can deliver worldwide connectivity. Today AST SpaceMobile, led by CEO Abel Avellan, is launching BlueBird 8-10 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral to extend cellular broadband.

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AST SpaceMobile Launches

AST SpaceMobile launched BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral at 2:39 a.m. ET on June 17 2026.
Each Block 2 satellite carries a 2,400-sq-ft array that delivers nearly 200 Mbps, about double Block 1’s 98.9 Mbps.
ASTS shares jumped 4.86% to $86.25 pre-market, after the company reported $70.9 million revenue, a $191 million loss, –$327 million free cash flow, $3.5 billion cash, and CTO and CFO sales of $3.85 million and $4.3 million.

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