AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird Block 2 satellites are part of a new class of spacecraft designed for direct-to-smartphone communication from orbit. These satellites are designed to support continuous cellular broadband service, starting with markets such as the United States, and aim to deliver voice, data, and video services directly to unmodified smartphones.

Each Block 2 satellite features a 2,400 sq ft phased-array antenna, placing them among the largest satellite arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit. The arrays support beamforming with up to 40 MHz per beam and peak data rates of 120 Mbps, capable of supporting high-throughput data services, including video and real-time connectivity.

The performance upgrade is powered by the custom AST5000 ASIC chip, developed with TSMC, which provides up to 10,000 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth while improving power efficiency and reducing cost.

AST SpaceMobile plans to launch up to 60 Block 2 satellites between 2025 and 2026 using multiple launch providers, including Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX Falcon 9, and ISRO’s GSLV. The first deployment is planned aboard an Indian GSLV mission.

The company is working with network operators such as AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, and Google, and holds agreements with more than 45 mobile carriers representing nearly 3 billion subscribers. A long-term contract with Vodafone in Europe and Africa extends to 2034 and covers both Block 1 and Block 2 satellite infrastructure.

Courtesy of AST.

New Glenn is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The rocket stands at roughly the height of a 30-story building and features a seven-meter payload fairing, enabling twice the volume of standard five-meter class commercial launch systems.

Specs

Height: 98 m (322 ft)

Diameter: 7 m (23 ft)

Stages: 2

Payload to low Earth orbit (LEO): 45,000 kg (99,000 lb)

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): 13,600 kg (30,000 lb)

The fairing is large enough to hold three school buses. Its reusable first stage aims for a minimum of 25 missions and will land on a sea-based platform located roughly 620 miles (1,000 km) downrange. Reusability is integral to radically reducing cost-per-launch.

The vehicle is powered by seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, the most powerful liquid oxygen (LOX) / liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine ever flown. LNG is cleaner-burning and higher-performing than kerosene-based fuels.

Blue Origin has several New Glenn vehicles in production and a full customer manifest. Customers include NASA, Project Kuiper, Telesat, and Eutelsat, among others. Blue Origin is certifying New Glenn with the U.S. Space Force for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program to meet emerging national security objectives.

Caption courtesy of Blue Origin. Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster.

Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was originally built as a two-pad complex, consisting of Pads 36A and 36B, constructed in the early 1960s to support the Atlas-Centaur rocket program. Pad 36A’s first launch occurred on May 8, 1962, and it completed 69 government missions. Pad 36B followed with its first launch on August 11, 1965, and supported 76 missions.

Throughout its government use, LC-36 hosted a wide range of Atlas-Centaur missions, including NASA’s Surveyor, Mariner, and Pioneer spacecraft, along with commercial and military payloads. The final Atlas III-Centaur mission lifted off from Pad 36B in 2005, marking the end of Atlas operations at the site.

In 2007, the mobile service towers on both 36A and 36B were demolished, bringing an end to the original two-pad configuration. Blue Origin leased the complex in 2015 and began redevelopment in 2016, rebuilding LC-36 into a single modern launch pad for the New Glenn orbital rocket. On January 16, 2025, New Glenn launched from LC-36, the first mission from the site in 20 years.

Caption and photo courtesy of Blue Origin.

Blue Origin's Jacklyn is a specialized landing platform designed to recover the first stage of the New Glenn rocket. Named after Jeff Bezos's mother, Jacklyn serves as an ocean-based droneship. Its purpose is to provide a safe landing location for the reusable first stage of New Glenn after it completes its role in launching payloads into space.

The Jacklyn droneship is equipped with systems to stabilize the rocket during recovery and transport it back to land for refurbishment.