AST SpaceMobile has taken a very literal big swing at satellite connectivity, deploying a giant spacecraft meant to talk directly to ordinary smartphones and challenge Starlink’s lead in space-based internet. The company’s BlueBird 6 satellite carries a huge antenna array that, once unfolded, acts more like an orbital cell tower than a traditional broadband node. The basic idea is bold but easy to grasp: if your existing phone can connect from almost anywhere, a “cellular Starlink” stops sounding like science fiction and starts looking like a near-term service.
The launch is also an early test of two competing visions for space connectivity. Starlink relies on thousands of smaller satellites and dedicated user terminals, while AST SpaceMobile is betting on fewer, much larger spacecraft that talk straight to phones. Which model scales better, and which one regulators and mobile carriers choose to support, will help decide who shapes the next decade of mobile coverage and who controls the customer relationship on the ground.
How BlueBird 6 rewrites satellite scale
BlueBird 6 is enormous by commercial standards. Its antenna array is about 2,400 square feet, and one technical review notes that this new design is more than three times larger than AST’s earlier spacecraft and offers roughly 10 times the capacity. That jump in size and throughput is what turns the BlueBird line from a technology demo into something that can plausibly support commercial traffic from regular phones instead of acting like a narrow emergency link.
AST SpaceMobile and outside observers describe BlueBird 6 as the world’s largest commercial communications satellite in low Earth orbit, a label that reflects both its physical footprint and its intended role as a full-service node. According to coverage of the, the craft’s 698-square-meter array (about 7,510 square feet) dwarfs many earlier telecom satellites and is central to AST’s claim that it can talk to small, low-power devices like phones. That scale matters because every extra square meter of antenna helps close the link budget to a handset in a pocket or a car’s built-in modem, which is exactly the audience AST is chasing.
A Texas firm, an Indian rocket, and a careful deployment
AST SpaceMobile is a Texas-based company that has taken a global route to orbit. An account of the reports that an Indian rocket carried the next-generation BlueBird 6 satellite into space, marking the first time AST hardware reached orbit from Indian soil using a local launcher. Other reports focus more on the timing, noting that the spacecraft flew into space weeks before February 10, 2026, but they line up on the basic sequence: a late-year launch followed by weeks of in-orbit checks.
The deployment phase has been just as carefully managed. According to company statements, AST SpaceMobile successfully unfolded the satellite’s massive array, transforming the compact launch stack into the full 698-square-meter structure needed for service. A separate report from PCMag notes that AST shared an image of the fully deployed antenna on a Tuesday after launch, confirming that the satellite was healthy and that the complex mechanism had worked on the first try. This slow, staged process mattered because a jammed hinge in orbit would have stranded a flagship asset and delayed the entire network plan.
Direct-to-phone design versus Starlink’s dishes
Starlink and AST SpaceMobile differ most in how they expect users to connect. Starlink relies on what one technical comparison calls a “satellite constellation plus user terminal” model, which depends on a dedicated ground antenna and modem that customers install at home or on vehicles. That approach works well for high-throughput broadband because the terminal can aim precisely and draw more power than a phone, but it also adds cost and friction: you have to buy, mount, and power a separate device before you can get online.
AST SpaceMobile is trying to remove that extra step. Its pitch is that BlueBird 6 and later satellites will connect directly to unmodified smartphones, using spectrum and protocols that look familiar to mobile carriers. Analysts who have reviewed AST’s plans argue that the very large array is the key enabler, because it lets the satellite focus enough energy to reach phones in places where terrestrial coverage is absent without asking users to change their hardware. This is a very different bet from Starlink’s, and it explains why AST has leaned into a small number of giant satellites instead of copying the many-small-sats model. If the direct-to-phone link works as planned, the user experience could feel like roaming onto a distant tower rather than signing up for a new satellite internet provider.
From AT&T beta tests to a 60-satellite plan
The more important question is who will sell this service to end users. In the United States, AT&T has already signaled that it is preparing a beta direct-to-device offering in partnership with AST SpaceMobile, positioning BlueBird 6 as the first of several satellites that will support that trial. According to reporting on the, AT&T plans to integrate satellite coverage into its existing mobile service, which could make the experience feel like a normal phone plan with an added safety net rather than a niche satellite subscription.
AST’s roadmap is ambitious. The company says it is on track to launch between 45 and 60 satellites by the end of 2026, with missions planned every one or two months on average, as described in its deployment update. Earlier statements also indicated that satellites after the Indian mission would fly in batches under a multi-launch agreement, which should help AST lock in price and timing for rides to orbit. If the company reaches the upper end of that 45–60 range, its coverage map could fill in faster than a simple comparison with Starlink’s thousands of satellites might suggest, because each BlueBird offers about 10 times the capacity of earlier craft and a much larger footprint.
Regulatory friction and “cellular Starlink” hype
Some early coverage treats AST SpaceMobile as an instant “cellular Starlink,” as if a single giant satellite could erase dead zones overnight. That view ignores the hard regulatory work between BlueBird 6 and mass-market service. A detailed analysis of AST’s points to major legal uncertainties, especially around using terrestrial spectrum from space in countries that have not yet set clear rules. Even if the technology works, AST will still need regulators and national carriers to agree on how, where, and under what conditions its satellites can talk to phones.
Timelines are another source of confusion. One report says the satellite flew into space weeks before February 10, 2026, while others focus on the earlier Indian rocket launch and the later confirmation that unfolding was complete. These accounts are not in conflict, but they show how easy it is for marketing language about “world’s largest” satellites and “first ever” services to blur the slower reality of testing, licensing, and integration. Realistically, 2026 looks more like the year AST proves its direct-to-phone model at scale with partners such as AT&T than the year every highway dead zone disappears.
More from Morning Overview
*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
