US firm unfolds largest commercial array in low Earth orbit to date

AST SpaceMobile, a US-based company, has successfully deployed BlueBird 6, the largest commercial communications array ever unfolded in low Earth orbit (LEO), measuring approximately 2,400 square feet. Launched on December 23, 2025, from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center, BlueBird 6 is designed to provide direct cellular broadband to standard, unmodified smartphones, delivering peak speeds of 120 Mbps—ten times the bandwidth of its predecessors. Utilizing advanced beamforming technology, the satellite focuses signals into narrow, high-quality coverage areas, enabling reliable 4G and 5G services, including voice, data, and video, comparable to ground-based cellular networks. The company plans to continue expanding its constellation with BlueBird 7 launching soon and aims to deploy 45 to 60 satellites by year-end, each offering 10 GHz of bandwidth to serve millions of users globally. AST SpaceMobile has formed strategic partnerships with major telecom operators such as AT&T, Verizon