AST SpaceMobile shares image of BlueBird array fully deployed in space. Photo: AST SpaceMobile

The massive array on AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 6 satellite successfully unfolded in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), the company announced on Tuesday evening.

BlueBird 6 is designed to provide cellular broadband from space to ordinary phones. The company says it is designed to support peak data speeds of 120 Mbps and full 4G and 5G broadband services.

According to the company, it is the largest commercial communications array antenna ever deployed in LEO. At nearly 2,400 square feet, it is three times larger than BlueBirds 1 through 5, the company’s prior satellites currently in orbit.

The antenna’s size allows reliable transmission and reception of signals from standard handheld devices, the company said. The satellite’s large aperture permits more precise beamforming for narrower, more concentrated coverage.

“BlueBird 6 is the result of specialized American manufacturing combined with world-class engineering ingenuity,” AST SpaceMobile Founder, Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said. “We are not just building satellites; we built a new way to manufacture innovative space technology at scale, and we have cultivated a highly skilled workforce capable of operating at the frontier of aerospace and telecommunications.”

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched BlueBird 6 in late December; it was the heaviest payload ever launched from an LVM3 vehicle from India.

AST SpaceMobile is set to ramp up launches to deploy BlueBird satellites. The company says is on track to launch 45 to 60 satellites with launches “every one or two months on average.”