AST SpaceMobile Still on Track for 45 Satellites This Year, Company Says

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2026 – AST SpaceMobile is on track to meet its goal of approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year, executives said on the company’s earnings call Monday.

“We do have contracted launch capacity to meet our target for 2026,” said AST President Scott Wisniewski. “The way to think about it is basically a handful of Blue Origin launches and a handful of SpaceX or equivalent launches. And that’s what gets us to the approximately 45.”

The company has six of its massive Bluebird satellites in orbit and is planning a mid-June launch with SpaceX that would add three more. In late April, AST suffered a setback when a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket failed to deposit one of its satellites in the correct orbit, leading to the unit being scrapped.

The mishap will leave New Glenn rockets grounded until the Federal Aviation Administration clears them again, potentially putting more pressure on AST’s launch plans. Wisniewski didn’t give an estimate for the timeline of the required investigation, but said the company was “optimistic” about Blue Origin.

The company still expects to hit its goal in November of this year. It has already fallen behind on its previous plans, having originally aimed for up to 20 satellites in orbit by the end of 2025.

Satellite analyst Tim Farrar has been skeptical of the 45-satellite timeline, and he remained so after Monday’s call. 

He posted on X that “45 satellites through launch 10 means 35-36 more to be on 7 launches. That means 5 launches on New Glenn (6/launch) and 2 on Falcon 9 (3/launch). That's not happening.” 

AST is planning a direct-to-device mobile service to compete with SpaceX’s and Amazon. It’s backed by AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. and has a slate of other carrier partners in other countries.

The company received Federal Communications Commission approval last month to offer direct-to-device service using AT&T and Verizon’s spectrum — once its satellites are numerous enough to enable that — and to operate a 248-satellite constellation in support of the service. 

Wisniewski said he expected additional carrier partnerships “to be signed with increasing velocity throughout 2026.”

AST is seeking authorization to host payloads using Ligado’s L-band spectrum on its satellites, which would enable direct-to-device service without carrier spectrum. Fellow satellite company Iridium and others have opposed the application citing interference concerns, which AST and Ligado say are unfounded.

AST brought in $14.7 million in revenue, partly from government projects, less than half what analysts projected. The company’s stock was down more than 13 percent Tuesday.