AST SpaceMobile reported $42.3 million in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, and said BlueBird satellites 11 through 13 had unfolded and become operational. Its November 9 business update combined financial results with the next steps in deploying its direct-to-device cellular network.
Quarterly revenue came from gateway deliveries and U.S. government milestones. Operating expenses were $211 million, including $77.4 million in depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation. The company reported approximately $3.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at September 30.
BlueBird 14 through 16 had shipped to Cape Canaveral for a SpaceX launch. The company expected satellites 17 through 19 to ship by the end of November for a Blue Origin flight in the first quarter of 2027. Its target was 45 satellites in orbit by mid-2027.
The update also reported validated satellite-beam handovers with AT&T and targeted initial intermittent service in the United States and other selected markets by year-end 2026. Production was under way through BlueBird 51, with a target of six satellites per month in December.
Connecting an Ordinary Phone Through Space
AST SpaceMobile’s network description places the satellite within a connection that also uses a ground gateway and a mobile operator. A phone sends its radio signal to the spacecraft. The satellite relays the signal to a gateway, which connects it into the operator’s terrestrial network.
The spacecraft’s large phased-array antenna is designed to receive signals from the small antennas and low-power transmitters in standard mobile phones. A phased array uses coordinated antenna elements to direct radio beams electronically. AST describes its next-generation arrays as covering approximately 2,400 square feet.
The gateway compensates for propagation delay and the Doppler shift produced by the moving satellite. Doppler shift changes the apparent frequency of a radio signal as transmitter and receiver move relative to one another. Compensation allows the space link to work with the timing and frequency behavior expected by the cellular network.
AST’s architecture routes the adjusted signal into a partner operator’s network, which completes the connection to its destination. The service is designed around existing mobile devices rather than a separate handset dedicated to satellite communication.
What Changes as Satellites Move
A low Earth orbit communications satellite moves across the sky relative to a user on the ground. Its radio coverage consequently moves as well. Beam management determines where the antenna directs service, and handover transfers an active connection as coverage changes. The reported AT&T handover work concerns that operating function.
A gateway has a different role from the phone-facing antenna. It supplies the connection between the orbiting equipment and the ground network. Gateway deliveries can generate revenue during the construction of the overall system, as reflected in the company’s quarterly results.
Satellite deployment adds the orbiting equipment used for those links. Once a satellite reaches orbit, deployment of its antenna creates the large receiving and transmitting surface described in the system design. The November update’s operational status for BlueBird 11 through 13 refers to spacecraft that had completed that unfolding stage.
Processing Signals on the Spacecraft
AST also identifies its AST5000 application-specific integrated circuit as part of the next-generation system. An application-specific chip is designed for a defined set of processing tasks. In this case, those tasks relate to handling the communications traffic carried through the satellite.
The company’s deployment program brings together spacecraft manufacturing, launches, antenna deployment, gateway equipment, and integration with mobile networks. Its November results record completed deliveries and operational spacecraft alongside dated shipment and service targets. The next announced spacecraft shipments extend that program into launches planned for the first quarter of 2027.
