AST SpaceMobile still expects to have 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit this year despite the recent failure on a Blue Origin launch. CEO Abel Avellan told investors on Monday that it is preparing to launch with SpaceX in mid-June, in mission that will launch three BlueBird satellites.
AST SpaceMobile reported first quarter financials on May 11, reporting $14.7 million in revenue in the first quarter. This revenue was primarily driven by commercial gateway deliveries and milestones for U.S. government service. Revenue was up significantly year-over-year, compared to $718,000 in revenue in the same time last year.
However, revenue declined nearly $40,000 sequentially. Chief Strategy Officer Scott Wisniewski told investors this decline was expected “due to the timing of gateway deployment to our commercial customers and the timing of completion of certain government contract milestones.”
The company is working to deploy its constellation in order to start commercial service. The company faced a recent setback when a Blue Origin New Glenn vehicle deployed its satellite to the wrong orbit last month.
In AST SpaceMobile’s 10-Q filed with the SEC on Monday the company said the loss is expected to be in line with the carrying value of the satellite, in the range of $155 million to $160 million. The company plans for an asset write-off in the second quarter of 2026.
The company also said in the 10-Q it had launch insurance coverage that covered a portion of the satellite and launch costs and has filed claims.
“At the end of the day, remember, we have 33 satellites in advanced stages of production at the factory. So it was a loss, we’re on to the next,” Wisniewski told investors. He added that the company is working closely with Blue Origin and is “optimistic” about New Glenn returning to the launch pad soon.
The company’s next launch is with SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket that will launch three satellites — BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10.
Wisniewski confirmed the company has contracted launch capacity to meet its target of deploying 45 satellites by the end of this year. He also mentioned that five BlueBirds would fit in a United Launch Alliance Vulcan configuration, mentioning the company has been developing other heavy launch providers outside of SpaceX and Blue Origin.
“We’ve designed [our satellites] to be launched vehicle-agnostic, and we’re buyers of launch across the entire heavy launcher footprint. We’ve prepared for this years ago with our strategy. We think we selected the right partners, and we’ve got good partners on top of that we’re working with,” he added.
The company needs 45 to 60 BlueBird satellites in orbit to provide continuous service, CFO Andrew Johnson told investors.
“We believe we can enable continuous SpaceMobile service across key markets such as the United States, Europe, Japan and other strategic markets with the launch and operation of approximately 45 to 60 BlueBird satellites — and additional strategic worldwide markets with the launch and operation of approximately 90 BlueBird satellites,” Johnson said.
