--- title: "AST SpaceMobile Links Japan’s J-LEO Program With BlueBird Production" id: 220374 type: "post" slug: "ast-spacemobile-japan-j-leo-bluebird-production" author: "NSE" published: "2026-11-10T13:57:08+00:00" modified: "2026-11-10T13:57:08+00:00" canonical: "https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/10/ast-spacemobile-japan-j-leo-bluebird-production/" markdown_url: "https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/10/ast-spacemobile-japan-j-leo-bluebird-production.md" description: "Rakuten AST is expected to receive up to ¥148 billion in Japanese support over roughly three years for a domestically operated satellite network. AST…" language: "en-US" category: - "Current News" - "Space Economy" post_tag: - "AST Spacemobile" --- # AST SpaceMobile Links Japan’s J-LEO Program With BlueBird Production ![Rakuten AST expects up to ¥148 billion in support over roughly three years; Japanese operations are planned by March 2029. AST targets six satellites monthly in December 2026 and AST5000 introduction on BlueBird 34.](https://i0.wp.com/newspaceeconomy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/ast-spacemobile-japan-j-leo-production.png?resize=696%2C464&ssl=1) AST SpaceMobile’s Japanese expansion combines satellite supply with a planned domestically operated network supported by public funding. Rakuten Group said on November 9, 2026, that the planned Rakuten AST joint venture is expected to receive up to ¥148 billion, approximately $1 billion, over roughly three years. The support is intended for Japan’s low Earth orbit satellite communications program, known as J-LEO. Under the [Rakuten AST agreement](https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2026/1109_01.html), reached November 6 in Japan, AST SpaceMobile will supply satellites for a Japanese-flagged constellation using midband spectrum. Grants are expected to be administered through the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan after the venture is established. Domestic operation is targeted by the end of March 2029. The program includes ground base stations managed and operated in Japan. Japanese operators would control the domestic network, with priority capacity for Japan. The announced framework also includes disaster resilience and planned emergency roaming between carriers. Global service would connect through AST SpaceMobile’s broader network, subject to the applicable approvals. ## Manufacturing and Launches in the Quarterly Update AST SpaceMobile’s [November 9 quarterly update](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1780312/000119312526453758/asts-ex99_1.htm) reported manufacturing activity through BlueBird 51 and full shifts at two Texas factories. The company targets production of six satellites per month by December 2026. It moved the planned introduction of its AST5000 custom chip forward to BlueBird 34 from BlueBird 50. BlueBirds 11 through 13 had unfolded and were operating. BlueBirds 14 through 16 had reached Cape Canaveral in September and were awaiting launch confirmation. The company expected BlueBirds 17 through 19 to ship by the end of November for a [Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com/) launch in the first quarter of 2027. For the quarter ended September 30, AST reported $42.3 million in revenue from gateway deliveries and government milestones. Operating expenses were $211 million, including $77.4 million in depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation. Cash, including restricted cash, totaled $3.2 billion. Gross capitalized property and equipment reached $2.6 billion, including satellite materials, launch advances, factories, and ground antennas. These investments support spacecraft production and the infrastructure connecting the constellation to terrestrial networks. ## Larger Antennas and Onboard Processing The company’s [next-generation BlueBird specification](https://ast-science.com/next-gen-bluebird/) describes an antenna array of approximately 2,400 square feet. The first five commercial BlueBird satellites used arrays of 693 square feet. The larger deployable surface is part of an architecture designed to communicate with ordinary mobile phones from low Earth orbit. AST5000 is an application-specific integrated circuit, meaning a chip designed for a defined set of processing tasks. AST describes its design as supporting 10 gigahertz of processing bandwidth and peak transmission rates above 150 megabits per second per coverage cell, across more than 2,000 cells. Those figures describe the planned satellite system’s processing and radio capacity. The published deployment history identifies BlueBird 6’s launch from India on December 23, 2025, BlueBird 7’s New Glenn launch on April 19, 2026, and Falcon 9 launches carrying BlueBirds 8 through 10 on June 17 and BlueBirds 11 through 13 on August 5. The sequence uses launch services from several providers to place successive spacecraft into orbit. ## How a Phone Connects Through the Network AST’s [network architecture](https://ast-science.com/how-it-works/) connects a standard mobile phone to a satellite, then routes the signal through a ground gateway into a mobile operator’s network. The satellite’s phased-array antenna captures the phone’s relatively weak radio signal. Focused beams provide the radio connection across defined coverage areas. The gateway compensates for propagation delay and for the Doppler effect, the frequency shift caused by the satellite’s motion relative to the phone. It then passes the connection into the carrier’s existing network. The carrier completes the call or data connection through its ordinary communications infrastructure. This arrangement gives ground infrastructure a specific operating role in a satellite-to-phone service. The gateway processes and transfers traffic between the moving spacecraft and the terrestrial carrier. In the Japanese program, locally managed ground facilities connect that technical function with domestic network operation. AST describes a service designed for existing smartphones without special satellite handsets, additional hardware, or dedicated applications. Its commercial approach works through mobile operators, connecting satellite coverage with the subscription and network relationship that already exists between the carrier and its customer. ## Carrier Integration and the Japanese Program The company’s [published service background](https://ast-science.com/faqs/) describes partnerships with more than 60 mobile network operators representing approximately three billion subscribers. Those figures describe the combined customer bases of partner carriers. The business arrangement brings AST’s space infrastructure together with operators’ terrestrial networks, spectrum access, and customer relationships. AST’s reported demonstrations include an April 2023 voice call using BlueWalker 3 and an April 2025 video call in Japan with Rakuten using the first-generation BlueBird system. These activities connected satellite radio links with ordinary mobile communications. The Japanese demonstration provides a direct technical antecedent to the network that Rakuten and AST now plan to establish through their joint venture. New Space Economy’s account of the [Japanese satellite-to-phone network](https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/11/09/rakuten-ast-plans-a-japanese-satellite-to-phone-network/) explains the division between spacecraft supply, domestic operations, and carrier services. AST supplies the satellite technology, and the Japanese venture organizes a nationally operated system. Rakuten’s relationship with AST predates the new venture: it participated in AST’s investment round in 2020. The J-LEO arrangement gives that relationship a defined procurement and operating structure. Its announced scope connects locally managed ground facilities and priority domestic capacity with AST-built spacecraft. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Useful Books Available on Amazon - [Satellite Communications Systems: Systems, Techniques and Technology](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119382084?tag=nse0a4-20)