AI Insight
SpaceX is scheduled to launch three BlueBird satellites (numbers 11-13) for AST SpaceMobile on August 5, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station using a Falcon 9 rocket. These next-generation BlueBird satellites feature large 2,400 square foot communication arrays and are designed to provide direct cellular broadband service to unmodified smartphones from low Earth orbit. The launch will nearly double the current fleet of next-generation BlueBirds in orbit, bringing AST SpaceMobile closer to initiating beta services later in 2026.
Why it matters
This deployment represents a significant step toward enabling global cellular broadband coverage directly to standard smartphones without requiring special equipment or modifications. The technology could provide internet connectivity to remote and underserved areas where traditional cellular infrastructure is unavailable or impractical to build.
Understand the Science
SpaceX will launch three big direct-to-cell satellites early on Wednesday morning (Aug. 5), and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying three of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday during a 96-minute window that opens at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT).
You can watch the action live here at Space.com courtesy of AST SpaceMobile, or directly via the Texas-based company. Coverage will begin at 2:42 a.m. EDT (0642 GMT).
Wednesday’s launch will continue building AST SpaceMobile’s constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO), which will beam internet service directly to unmodified smartphones.
Ten of the company’s BlueBird spacecraft have lifted off to date, most recently on June 17 when a Falcon 9 sent three of them to LEO from Florida. The launch of BlueBirds 11 to 13 will be a big step toward getting the constellation fully up and running, according to AST SpaceMobile.
“This orbital launch, combined with expanded manufacturing capacity and the recent successful launch and deployment of BlueBird satellites 8, 9, and 10, position us for beta services later this year with our space-based cellular broadband coverage,” Scott Wisniewski, the company’s president, said in a July 28 statement.
AST SpaceMobile began assembling its constellation with “Block 1” spacecraft, which have communications arrays that cover 693 square feet (64.4 square meters) when unfurled.
That’s pretty big, but the company upped the ante with BlueBird 6, which reached LEO atop an Indian LVM3 rocket in December 2025. That was the first “next-generation” BlueBird, a class whose antennas cover a whopping 2,400 square feet (223 square m).
There are currently four next-gen BlueBirds in LEO — numbers 6, 8, 9 and 10. (BlueBird 7 was lost shortly after liftoff this past April after its Blue Origin New Glenn rocket suffered an anomaly.) So, BlueBirds 11 through 13 will nearly double the off-Earth population.
“These next-generation BlueBird satellites are expected to deliver nearly double the peak download speeds achieved by the company’s initial Block 1 BlueBird satellites, which recently demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones,” AST SpaceMobile wrote in the same statement.
If all goes according to plan on Wednesday, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch, touching down in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas.”
It will be the 30th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. The rocket also flew the BlueBird 8-10 mission in June.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, will deploy the three BlueBird satellites into LEO over an 11-minute span beginning 53.5 minutes after liftoff.
Source: Watch SpaceX launch 3 giant BlueBird direct-to-cell satellites early on Aug. 5