AST SpaceMobile will support STR on a U.S. Space Force contract to evaluate sensing applications for technology developed for its BlueBird cellular satellites. The company announced the development phase on November 5. STR holds the prime contract with the government, and AST contributes the commercially developed satellite technology.
BlueBird’s commercial purpose is to connect ordinary mobile phones to cellular service from orbit. The satellites receive radio signals from handsets and transmit signals back to them. AST assembles, integrates, and tests the spacecraft in Midland, Texas.
The Space Force work gives that technology a different assignment. In a cellular network, the useful product is a communications link that carries a customer’s call or data. In a sensing application, the useful product is a measurement acquired from orbit. The government program is evaluating how technology developed for the first task can support the second.
The contracting arrangement builds on related work that AST and STR have already undertaken using experience in orbit. STR retains responsibility as the prime contractor for the Space Force effort. AST’s role in the additional phase is to support the development of the sensing capability with its space-based technology.
