ASTS Stock Jumps Overnight: BlueBirds 8-10 Go Live As AST SpaceMobile’s Satellite Army Builds Toward No. 37

• The company said BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10 are now operational in orbit.
• BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 are targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral in the first half of August.
• The next satellites will carry 2,400-square-foot communications arrays and are expected to nearly double the peak speeds of AST’s initial Block 1 satellites.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) jumped 2% overnight late Sunday after the company said BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10 are now operational in orbit, while its next satellites are lined up and production has advanced through BlueBird 37.

ASTS stock rose 9% on Friday, but shares are still on track to end June at their weakest monthly level in more than two years. 

ASTS BlueBird Pipeline Hits No. 37

In a post on X, AST SpaceMobile said “execution” was in motion, citing another delivery to Midland, Texas, and further progress in its satellite buildout. “BlueBirds 8, 9, and 10 are in orbit and operational; 11, 12, and 13 are next,” the company said. “Satellites in production through BlueBird 37.”

AST SpaceMobile aims to build the world’s first space-based cellular broadband network that can connect directly to standard, unmodified smartphones.

The latest operational update comes shortly after AST SpaceMobile said BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 are targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the first half of August. These satellites will form the next batch of the company’s low-Earth-orbit network and are expected to further expand coverage as AST SpaceMobile moves toward commercial service.

“With each successful launch, we move closer to our goal of making space-based cellular broadband accessible wherever people live, work, and travel,” Scott Wisniewski, president of AST SpaceMobile, said last week. Wisniewski said that the move from BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10 to the next mission, along with production through BlueBird 37, underscores the company’s manufacturing strength and its ability to steadily expand the network.

ASTS Eyes Faster Launch Cadence

BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 will feature commercial communications arrays measuring about 2,400 square feet, matching the scale of the BlueBird satellites now operating in orbit. AST SpaceMobile said that the satellites are expected to deliver nearly double the peak data speeds of its initial Block 1 BlueBird satellites, which recently achieved peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones.

The latest update also shows how quickly AST SpaceMobile is trying to scale after an earlier setback. In April, the company said BlueBird 7 was placed into a lower-than-planned orbit during a New Glenn mission and was expected to deorbit, though the satellite’s cost was expected to be recovered through insurance.

At the time, AST SpaceMobile said it was in production through BlueBird 32. The company now says that the pipeline has moved through BlueBird 37, with BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 next in line after the operational deployment of 8, 9 and 10. AST SpaceMobile expects an orbital launch every one to two months on average this year and is targeting about 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About ASTS?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS was ‘neutral’ amid a 71% jump in message volumes in a week.

One user said, “$ASTS open the market!!!! We seek this week!!! The bears are done!!!”

Another user said, “That post was dropped on a Sunday to remind the world, and the shorts, that even though the market is closed, the factory never stops working. Materials are still being delivered. Bluebirds are still being built. 24 hours a day. Seven days a week. This train ain’t stopping. And the shorts doom is approaching whether they like it or not.“

ASTS stock has risen 41% over the past year.

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