AST SpaceMobile said it will launch its next three BlueBird spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket targeted for mid-June 2026, shifting providers after the loss of BlueBird 7 and a failed Blue Origin mission that left its previous payload in an unusable orbit.
The company said the April 19 Blue Origin New Glenn NG-3 mission suffered an upper-stage engine thrust deficiency, leaving the satellite in an off-nominal orbit before BlueBird 7 eventually burned up upon reentry. The new launch is being treated as a recovery effort, and it comes as AST SpaceMobile works under pressure to reach 45 to 60 operational satellites by the end of 2026.
The three spacecraft scheduled for the June flight are Block 2 units, and AST SpaceMobile says they carry the largest commercial phased-array antennas ever deployed in Low Earth Orbit. If the launch succeeds, it would give the company a crucial step forward in a race where execution matters as much as ambition, particularly against SpaceX’s Starlink Direct-to-Cell service. AST SpaceMobile also said it has more than $1.2 billion in contracted revenue commitments, a figure that underscores why the June mission carries so much weight.
The company’s June shift does not erase the broader relationship with Blue Origin. AST SpaceMobile still has a multi-launch agreement with the company, but the Falcon 9 flight now becomes the test that matters most. It will also serve as a validator for the company’s Midland, Texas, production line, which AST SpaceMobile says is operating at a 95% vertical integration rate.
The real tension is between the schedule AST SpaceMobile needs and the setbacks it has already absorbed. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded Blue Origin’s New Glenn vehicle after the April failure, and the company is now relying on SpaceX to get the next three satellites aloft on time. AST SpaceMobile is expected to provide a revised operational roadmap for the rest of 2026 after the June deployment, which will show whether the company can still make its year-end satellite target after the disruption.
For AST SpaceMobile, the June launch is not just another mission. It is the point at which its recovery plan either starts to look credible or starts to slip beyond the calendar it has been trying to meet.
