AST SpaceMobile, the company building a Bluebird satellite relay constellation that is directly accessible by mobile phones, has announced the successful deployment of the 64.4 square meter communications array on its test satellite, BlueWalker 3 (BW3), in orbit. This becomes the largest ever phased-array antenna deployed on a commercial spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
The array is designed to communicate directly with cellular devices via 3GPP standard frequencies at 5G speed and has a field of view of 300,000 square miles. The 1,500 kg satellite was launched on 11 September 2022 along with Starlink satellites on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The first batch of operational BlueBird constellation satellites is scheduled for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in late 2023 or early 2024.
While an animation of the spacecraft in orbit has been released, it is the photographs of the antenna next to humans that gives a better idea of its size.
Animation still of BlueWalker 3 along with its very large antenna array. Courtesy: AST SpaceMobile
Actual images of BlueWalker 3 communications array deployed in orbit and of its deployment test on Earth. Courtesy: AST SpaceMobile
