AST SpaceMobile has pushed its plans for continuous service into the first half of 2027 after a run of launch setbacks forced the company to reset its satellite deployment schedule. The move marks a setback for the Texas-based company as it tries to build a telecommunications network entirely from space and provide direct-to-cellular broadband to unmodified smartphones.
The delay matters now because the company had begun the year with a far more aggressive target: up to 45 satellites in orbit to support continuous coverage in select markets. Instead, AST SpaceMobile said its plans have faced unexpected hurdles in recent months and that the timeline has moved to next year, a shift that has helped drag the stock to 34% below its 52-week high.
That pressure sits on top of a business model that still depends on scale. Management has said it needs between 45 and 60 BlueBird satellites in orbit to deliver continuous coverage to its early select markets, and AST SpaceMobile has launched only six so far. The company also has signed deals with Alphabet, AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone, giving it commercial partners even as the constellation remains in its early stages.
The latest setback came in April, when BlueBird 7, carried by Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, was deployed into an orbit too low to be operational. AST SpaceMobile later de-orbited the satellite and said it was fully insured. Then in May, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral and destroyed Blue Origin's only launch pad, knocking another potential launch option out of service at a critical moment.
With New Glenn sidelined, AST SpaceMobile now has to lean more heavily on SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket to get satellites into orbit. The company is targeting mid-June for the launch of BlueBird 8, 9 and 10, a run that could help steady the schedule but would still leave the broader network far short of the 45 to 60 satellites management says it needs for continuous service.
AST SpaceMobile says it has scaled production to six BlueBird satellites per month, a pace that suggests the factory floor is not the main bottleneck. The problem is getting those spacecraft into orbit on time. Long term, the company aims to field more than 100 satellites to reach full global coverage and support additional markets, but for now the next test is whether the mid-June launch goes off as planned.
