Watch Items

FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-08-24 (US/Eastern). Docket 24-30: World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee for WRC-27 (Office of International Affairs). Document(s): AST WAC Comments.pdf. ECFS submission 26110072949. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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AT&T Chief Operating Officer Jeff McElfresh posted on LinkedIn congratulating AST SpaceMobile on receiving an FCC Special Temporary Authority to test Grain Management's 800 MHz spectrum, referencing AT&T's satellite joint venture and industry collaboration; post published before a Bloomberg article on Grain's spectrum sale. Date approximate, based on the post being described as posted 'yesterday' relative to this Friday-night recording.

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The White House released a National Space Transportation Policy on August 20, 2026, prioritizing US launch capacity and also referencing support for ubiquitous satellite-enabled global broadband communications. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly responded that boosting the space economy is a key pillar of the administration's 'Build America' agenda. Kook frames this as a government-driven tailwind for the satellite direct-to-cell industry, including AST SpaceMobile.

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Anpanman cited this as major news occurring 'yesterday' relative to the episode's recording, framing it as evidence China is closing the reusable-rocket gap with the US amid an accelerating international space race.

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Kook, citing research by 'Rocket Tank123' and Anpanman, reports the FCC-granted STA text requires all testing to comply with 'all existing agreements between AST Space Mobile and T-Mobile USA.' Exact grant date approximate; episode recording date used. Anpanman details the underlying spectrum as 7 MHz by 7 MHz of nationwide 800 MHz low-band cellular spectrum, and describes FCC build-out milestones Grain must meet (roughly 100/200/300 units per MHz of throughput across growing coverage percentages at 3, 5, and 10 years) that make satellite-based direct-to-device the most cost-efficient compliance path; the STA's granted text explicitly requires testing to comply with existing AST-T-Mobile agreements.

Kook cites a report that Verizon is testing drone technologies with NVIDIA and Lockheed Martin to build a 5G-based drone tracking system, incorporating AST SpaceMobile as a satellite backup connectivity layer. Exact date approximate; episode recording date used.

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Kook notes Fairwinds has formally branded its collaboration with AST SpaceMobile as AetherLink, described as a global 5G and non-terrestrial-network service for mission-critical defense communications. Exact date approximate; episode recording date used.

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Ozzy Ramos, most recently vice chair of investment banking at UBS (Aug 2023-Aug 2026) and before that nearly 16 years at Barclays (including vice chair of banking and head of the communications, cable and satellite sector), and earlier 8 years at Lehman Brothers, joins AST SpaceMobile; disclosed by Anpanman as a hire separate from the Q2 2026 earnings disclosures. Anpanman adds career detail: Ramos began at Lehman Brothers, moved to Barclays after its acquisition of Lehman, became head of communications/cable/satellite banking and later vice chair of banking (working on deals including the Viasat-Inmarsat transaction), then became vice chair of investment banking at UBS before joining AST as a strategic advisor for potential M&A, joint ventures, and spectrum deals.

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2026-08-10, reporting events of 2026-08-10. Accession 0001193125-26-342540. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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Up from roughly $1.2 billion disclosed at Q1 2026; a minority of the backlog is government-related per Scott Wisniewski, though government is expected to scale fastest.

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Up from BlueBird 42 disclosed August 3, 2026; BlueBirds 14-16 described as ready to ship shortly, with 17 through 46 in various stages of production and assembly.

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Up from prior counts of 45+/50+ partners; key named partners include AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, STC Group, Bell Canada and TELUS.

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Company targeting an average launch cadence of about one launch every 1-2 months; providing launch-specific disclosure roughly 2 months in advance of each launch.

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Rakuten confirmed on its earnings call the morning of August 10, 2026 that it received the roughly $1 billion J-LEO award to build a sovereign LEO satellite constellation in Japan in partnership with AST SpaceMobile. The satellites will also be usable for AST service outside Japan, though the joint venture structure has not yet been formalized; Rakuten is targeting beta commercial service by the end of 2026.

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On the Q2 2026 earnings call, per Kook's summary, the company said radar in low-band spectrum already accounts for the majority of AST SpaceMobile's US government revenue.

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On the Q2 2026 earnings call, the company added GPS alongside radar and secure communications as a government use case, per Kook.

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On the Q2 2026 earnings call, AST SpaceMobile revealed a product roadmap slide listing non-comms, radar, secure government communications, funded networks, IoT, AI edge compute, and federal emergency services, with AI compute capability to begin with satellite Bluebird 47 onward, per Abel Avellan as relayed by Kook.

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Kook reported this week that Jennifer Manner, AST SpaceMobile's SVP of regulatory affairs and international strategy, was selected to serve on the FCC's Technological Advisory Council, reflecting AST having 'a seat at the table' in shaping direct-to-device policy. Date approximate ('this week' relative to the Aug 8, 2026 episode).

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Kook reported AST SpaceMobile received its license from Japan to operate in the relevant frequencies this week, viewed as a positive step toward operationalizing the J-LEO joint venture with Rakuten. Date approximate ('this week' relative to the Aug 8, 2026 episode).

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AST SpaceMobile announced that Satellite Connect Europe has started integration and testing with Deutsche Telekom alongside its existing European carrier partners. The same day, on its own earnings call, Deutsche Telekom acknowledged AST SpaceMobile publicly for the first time, and executives raised doubts about EchoStar's ability to secure 2 GHz S-band spectrum in the EU as its Starlink acquisition proceeds through regulatory review.

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FCC order following the T-Mobile spectrum swap required Grain to hire an advisor and begin soliciting bids from prospective satellite operators by this date; per Anpanman, this step had already occurred by the August 21, 2026 episode.

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Launch Library 2 status: Launch Successful. SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Payload: BlueBird 11-13 (Block 2 #6-8) to LEO. NET 2026-08-05T07:49:00Z (net_precision: Minute; all dates UTC). Anpanman confirms AST established communications with Bluebird 11, 12, and 13 and achieved nominal control after detumbling; antenna unfolding is expected in roughly 30 days, compared to 49 days for Bluebird 6 and 28/33/34 days for Bluebirds 8, 9, and 10.

Ground-truth orbital census from the CelesTrak satellite catalogue, independent of company statements: 12 payload(s) on orbit as of the 2026-08-05 change. On orbit: SPACEMOBILE OBJECT A, SPACEMOBILE OBJECT B, SPACEMOBILE OBJECT C, SPACEMOBILE-001, SPACEMOBILE-002, SPACEMOBILE-003, SPACEMOBILE-004, SPACEMOBILE-005, SPACEMOBILE-006, SPACEMOBILE-008, SPACEMOBILE-009, SPACEMOBILE-010. Catalogued but no longer on orbit: SPACEMOBILE-007 (decayed 2026-04-20). All on-orbit payloads carry a nominal SATCAT operational status. 5 associated non-payload object(s) also catalogued (SPACEMOBILE-001 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-002 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-003 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-004 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-005 DEB); these share the payload launch dates, so they are deployment hardware rather than breakup debris, and are not filed as events. Corroborated against the CelesTrak GP active catalogue: 12 of 12 on-orbit payloads have current element sets. Count covers the SPACEMOBILE-numbered BlueBird satellites only; the BlueWalker 3 prototype (NORAD 53807) is catalogued separately and is deliberately excluded. On orbit: SPACEMOBILE-001, SPACEMOBILE-002, SPACEMOBILE-003, SPACEMOBILE-004, SPACEMOBILE-005, SPACEMOBILE-006, SPACEMOBILE-008, SPACEMOBILE-009, SPACEMOBILE-010, SPACEMOBILE-011, SPACEMOBILE-012, SPACEMOBILE-013.

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In a Q&A session Anpanman says occurred 'yesterday' relative to this recording, SpaceX stated it will build a terrestrial network of small cells and a new Starlink terminal enabling customers to act as cell repeaters, with Elon Musk saying he expects a majority of internet traffic to eventually move over Starlink's satellites; date is approximate.

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Kook states satellite production is now advancing through BlueBird 42, up from the previously disclosed BlueBird 38 in mid-July 2026; exact date approximate (episode publish date used).

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Kook states Safaricom has authorized AST to use a 20 by 20 megahertz spectrum band for direct-to-device services at no cost to AST; exact date approximate (episode publish date used). Anpanman specifies the Safaricom authorization covers 20x20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum specifically, for AST's direct-to-device service in Kenya.

Kook states AST has filed for 2 SSO shells covering the poles with 28 satellites planned (approximately 9 Falcon launches), cited as context for Golden Dome speculation; exact filing date approximate (episode publish date used).

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Amazon filed with the FCC for a direct-to-device satellite constellation of over 5,000 satellites, using existing US Globalstar spectrum plus broader international L-band/S-band filings; architecture described as similar to Starlink; no Supplemental Coverage from Space request made since the Globalstar spectrum is already approved for satellite-to-device MSS use (the same spectrum used by Apple iPhones). Described by podcast host Anpanman as a regulatory placeholder to preserve spectrum rights ahead of a future full-scale deployment, alongside Amazon's already-committed Globalstar replenishment satellites and a roughly 50-satellite next-generation Aurora-based batch.

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Reported the morning of the July 24, 2026 episode. Schulman said Starlink's direct-to-home service poses no significant competitive threat, reiterated Verizon's commitment to the AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, and explicitly denied any backdoor path (e.g., SpaceX acquiring an MVNO like Charter or EchoStar's Boost Mobile) to gaining an MVNO relationship with Verizon.

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Ankush Bansal joined AST SpaceMobile this week as a presales lead for Asia-Pacific, based in Sydney, following a prior APAC hire based in Tokyo. Date approximate ('this week' relative to the July 27, 2026 episode).

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Date approximate, referenced as 'yesterday' relative to Verizon's July 24, 2026 call, coinciding with the one-year anniversary (July 23) of T-Mobile's Starlink T-Satellite service. CEO stated satellite coverage is now table stakes rather than optional, a shift from prior framing of satellite as a niche service; also stated Starlink exclusivity with T-Mobile would continue beyond the one-year mark, though the scope was not fully clarified.

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Date approximate (within the week of July 20-24, 2026, described as 'this past week' relative to the July 24 episode). Stankey said satellite lets AT&T decommission uneconomic towers, a CapEx-side cost-savings story in addition to the revenue story; also reiterated AT&T will not enable an MVNO relationship with any satellite company (understood as directed at Starlink), and reiterated commitment to the AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile joint venture with AST SpaceMobile as centerpiece.

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Date approximate (occurred while Anpanman was on vacation, before the July 24, 2026 episode). Tweet followed successful deployment of Bluebirds 8, 9, and 10 and delivery of Bluebirds 11, 12, and 13; disclosed the Bluebird platform functions as a radar phased array (first explicit print statement of this), can support space-edge AI computing and mission-critical government applications, reiterated a 200 Mbps peak-data-rate goal for Block 2 (versus ~98 Mbps on Block 1 and ~140-160 Mbps recently on Bluebird 6), and specified satellites can be stacked 3 per launch on Falcon 9/MHI, 5 on Ariane 6/Vulcan, and 6 or 8 on Blue Origin's New Glenn.

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Kook reports a 30-day FCC authorization was granted the week before this July 27, 2026 episode for AST SpaceMobile to test direct-to-device broadband service using T-Mobile's spectrum, viewed as a signal toward an eventual T-Mobile commercial relationship. Date approximate ('this last week').

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Kook confirms on this July 27, 2026 episode that the previously priced $1.0 billion convertible notes offering (1.625% coupon, due 2034) has now closed, funding AST's balance sheet with relatively low dilution and low interest despite market weakness during the raise. Finalized aggregate principal of $1.15 billion, AST's lowest coupon ever; capped call raised the effective conversion price to $149.20/share; effective dilution described as less than 2%.

Bloomberg article published July 15, 2026 on Starlink and EU satellite policy highlighted that Satellite Connect Europe (SatCo, the Vodafone-AST JV) was called out as being well-positioned to receive an allocation of 2 GHz MSS spectrum from Europe, per podcast host citing the article.

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Host stated as fact that Brazil's Anatel has allocated AST SpaceMobile 10 by 10 megahertz of S-band spectrum, with expectation of additional spectrum grants globally in coming weeks/months.

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Company formally disclosed in an 8-K filing (Reg FD disclosure) on July 15, 2026 that AST is in advanced discussions with Rakuten Mobile to form the joint venture to execute on the Japanese government's ~$1 billion (¥922M cited in ledger) J-LEO sovereign satellite program, upgrading prior unconfirmed reports to official company guidance.

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Company disclosed in the July 15, 2026 8-K/press release for the convertible note offering that the previously targeted 45-satellite constellation deployment by year-end 2026 has been pushed to early 2027 (Q1 2027), attributed to the Blue Origin launchpad explosion and program suspension. Target history: the figure was first guided on the Q3 2025 earnings call (Nov 11, 2025) as a range of 45 to 60 satellites deployed by year-end 2026, described as the funded target for continuous service in the US, Europe, Japan and other strategic markets; on Apr 20, 2026 the company softened full-year 2026 satellite-count guidance to 'approximately 45' (22 satellites were then in assembly), superseding the 45-60 range; it was restated as 45 satellites in orbit by year-end 2026 on Jun 2, 2026; and pushed to Q1 2027 here. The superseded year-end-2026 target rows are folded into this entry -- the only live target is the Q1 2027 row.

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AST announced (via press release/public filings discovered by community, cited by host on July 15, 2026) a manufacturing expansion project in Midland, Texas costing approximately $150 million and adding approximately 400,000 square feet of production space, nearly doubling the existing ~500,000 square-foot global manufacturing footprint. Host speculates expansion supports ramp to 10-12 satellites/month for government applications and/or Block 3 mid-band satellite production starting late 2026. On the Q2 2026 earnings call, AST explicitly confirmed the 400,000 sq ft Midland expansion (bringing total footprint toward roughly 1 million sq ft) is being driven specifically by US government demand tied to programs such as Golden Dome and Arsenal Freedom, per Anpanman.

BlueBird 10, one of the three Block 2 satellites launched June 17, 2026, successfully unfurled its ~2,400 sq ft phased-array antenna, marking the first composite-construction BlueBird to achieve full deployment (distinct from FM1/BlueBird 6 which was not composite). Represents final technical validation of composite manufacturing approach for the Block 2 fleet.

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FCC issued proposal to expand the Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) framework beyond smartphones to encompass Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, unlicensed devices, agricultural sensors, tractors, utility infrastructure, pipelines, rail networks, remote industrial equipment, and public safety devices—a significant expansion of the addressable market for direct-to-device satellite services. Community analyst Jonathan Cooper published detailed write-up cataloging the scope.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2026-07-20, reporting events of 2026-07-15. Accession 0001493152-26-033912. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2026-07-15, reporting events of 2026-07-15. Accession 0001493152-26-033365. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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Kook reported (via an AST company tweet titled 'Execution in Motion') that BlueBird 11 has landed at Cape Canaveral with BlueBirds 12 and 13 following behind it, and that the company has already backfilled its satellite production queue with a new satellite, BlueBird 38, now in assembly at the Midland facility — extending the previously disclosed production queue beyond BlueBird 37.

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Chris Sambar, former AT&T President of Network, FirstNet architect, and former AST SpaceMobile board member who personally orchestrated AT&T's strategic partnership with AST, hired by T-Mobile as Chief Enterprise Officer. Sambar is a personal friend of Abel Avellan and has intimate knowledge of AST's technology, launch timeline, and capabilities. Press release also announced his mandate to strengthen T-Mobile's strategy beyond core wireless, including enterprise, public safety (FirstNet-adjacent), IoT, and 6G.

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Mike Katz, T-Mobile's Chief Business and Product Officer for 20 years and the executive responsible for architecting and executing the Starlink partnership and T-Satellite business, announced his departure from T-Mobile concurrently with the announcement of Chris Sambar's hiring. Part of the 'old guard' alongside former CEO Mike Sievert who greenlit the Starlink relationship.

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Satellite Connect Europe (AST/Vodafone JV) disclosed that Block 1 BlueBird satellites achieved 98 Mbps using only 10 MHz of downlink spectrum, demonstrating 10 bits per hertz spectral efficiency—more than double the previously theorized 4 bits/hertz ceiling and matching or exceeding terrestrial network efficiency (7-8 bits/hertz). Company commercially rolling out 3 bits/hertz with roadmap to 3-11x improvement; 10 bits/hertz achievement hits the first 3x milestone.

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Hosts stated that by the time of recording (mid-July 2026), all three of the next Block 2 BlueBirds (11, 12, and 13) had been shipped to Cape Canaveral, updating the prior report of only BlueBird 11 having shipped.

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AST SpaceMobile updated its website to report direct-to-device speeds over 150 megabits per second, up from the previously stated 120 Mbps, demonstrating continued product performance improvements.

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Update: Kook, citing community member Katsu's timeline, specified that the FCC's approval on July 1 involved a Grain Management 800 MHz spectrum deal connected to T-Mobile, with AST SpaceMobile filing Special Temporary Authority applications to test the band the very next day (July 2) — adding the T-Mobile linkage to the previously recorded transaction.

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Filed one day after FCC approved Grain Management's acquisition of 7x7 MHz of 800 MHz spectrum; ASTS seeking authorization to test the band

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AST reported finalizing assembly of BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 for an August 2026 SpaceX launch, with next-generation BlueBird satellites through BlueBird 37 in active production and phased arrays completed through BlueBird 28.

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AST SpaceMobile confirmed that the US Space Development Agency and Missile Defense Agency are using dedicated secure frequency partitions on ASTS satellites to test an alternative positioning-navigation-and-timing (PNT) source as a GPS backup for military equipment operating where GPS is jammed or spoofed.

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Company disclosed cash balance of $2.7 billion as of June 30, 2026, down from approximately $3 billion the previous quarter, representing a quarterly burn rate of approximately $300 million during a growth phase.

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AST publicly commended the FCC's efforts (with support from Senator Ted Cruz) to bring the Grain Management 800 MHz spectrum band into use for 5G mobile service; AST currently uses adjacent 850 MHz federated spectrum with AT&T/Verizon and is viewed as a likely counterparty if this spectrum is incorporated into direct-to-device use.

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Revenue more than doubled from Q1 2026, driven by commercial gateway deliveries and US government service milestone achievements; company delivered 13 gateways to 7 customers across 5 continents in the quarter.

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Pro forma figure includes gross proceeds from the July 2026 $1.15 billion convertible notes offering.

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Disclosed by Scott Wisniewski as part of continued government revenue and backlog build; company plans further public announcements on the specific awards. On the Q2 2026 earnings call, Anpanman states the combined value of these 3 new government awards was disclosed at approximately $125 million, refining the prior 'over $100 million' figure.

Disclosure indicates Starlink plans to sell mobile service directly to consumers rather than solely through MNO partnerships, going around exclusivity with T-Mobile and eventually targeting AT&T/Verizon customers as well.

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Anpanman cites a same-day regulatory disclosure from Brazil as evidence of AST's multi-satellite MIMO connectivity capability.

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A subcommittee of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) approved use of the 700 MHz band for satellite-to-device service. MIC selected the Rakuten Mobile/AST JV (over a KDDI-SpaceX consortium) for Japan's ~$922M sovereign J-LEO program; Rakuten is Japan's only 700 MHz-holding MNO.

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Vodafone España (Spain), sold out of Vodafone Group to a private equity firm roughly a year prior, confirmed a commercial agreement — reiterated by AST SpaceMobile — to join the Satellite Connect Europe joint venture, with commercial service targeted for 2027.

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Rakuten announced formation of a 50/50 joint venture with AST SpaceMobile on 2026-06-23, structured similarly to Satellite Connect Europe (Vodafone JV). AST to contribute satellites/technology/know-how; Rakuten to contribute capital. JV designed to meet Japan's J.Leo project requirements (¥148B subsidy, decision end of June 2026) and enable disaster roaming across all Japanese MNOs (KDDI, NTT Docomo, SoftBank, Rakuten). JV to be established within 2026, likely next few months. AST and Rakuten testing on SoftBank spectrum (requires permission), indicating SoftBank likely joining JV.

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As of this episode, AST SpaceMobile's disclosed satellite production queue spans BlueBirds 11 through 37, with BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 in final preparation for shipment — four more satellites added to the queue since a prior update that had run through BlueBird 32.

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Following an initial 2.5 million share prepaid forward tranche executed in late 2024, Avellan disclosed/executed a second prepaid forward for an additional 2.5 million shares (put-call collar structure against his ASTS holdings), bringing total shares in these vehicles to 5 million out of his roughly 78 million total ASTS shares owned. Exact strike prices not disclosed in the episode.

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Three Block 2 BlueBirds launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 (booster B1077) from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFC, at 2:39 a.m. EDT, off a window running 2:39-4:15 a.m. ET. Each ~2,400 sq ft array. AST's first launch using a stacked multi-satellite configuration on Falcon 9. AST confirmed successful orbital launch/deployment same day. Target history: originally targeted for ~June 15, 2026; launched June 17, 2026. Launch Library 2 status: Launch Successful. SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Payload: BlueBird Block 2 #3-5 to LEO. COSPAR launch designator 2026-139. NET 2026-06-17T06:39:00Z (net_precision: Minute; all dates UTC). Payload: BlueBird 8-10 (Block 2 #3-5) to LEO.

Same-day press release accompanying the BlueBird 8/9/10 launch confirmed Block 2 satellites are optimized for 200 Mbps peak speeds, up from ~99 Mbps recently on Block 1 and ~160 Mbps previously cited for Block 2 (BlueBird 6) by Abel Avellan at the BlueBird 7 launch.

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Press release disclosed production levels of 37 Bluebird satellites, an increase of 5 from the previously stated 32.

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Company press release stated Bluebirds 11, 12, and 13 are in final preparations for shipment, a step beyond the prior 'final testing' language used for earlier batches.

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Ground-truth orbital census from the CelesTrak satellite catalogue, independent of company statements: 9 payload(s) on orbit as of the 2026-06-17 change. On orbit: SPACEMOBILE-001, SPACEMOBILE-002, SPACEMOBILE-003, SPACEMOBILE-004, SPACEMOBILE-005, SPACEMOBILE-006, SPACEMOBILE-008, SPACEMOBILE-009, SPACEMOBILE-010. Catalogued but no longer on orbit: SPACEMOBILE-007 (decayed 2026-04-20). All on-orbit payloads carry a nominal SATCAT operational status. 5 associated non-payload object(s) also catalogued (SPACEMOBILE-001 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-002 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-003 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-004 DEB, SPACEMOBILE-005 DEB); these share the payload launch dates, so they are deployment hardware rather than breakup debris, and are not filed as events. Corroborated against the CelesTrak GP active catalogue: 9 of 9 on-orbit payloads have current element sets Count covers the SPACEMOBILE-numbered BlueBird satellites only; the BlueWalker 3 prototype (NORAD 53807) is catalogued separately and is deliberately excluded. Corroborated against the CelesTrak GP active catalogue: 9 of 9 on-orbit payloads have current element sets.

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Described as filed 'over last week' relative to the June 16, 2026 episode; Anpanman expects an FCC grant tied to this SDA work in the near future given its relevance to radar sensing and communications for military applications. Date is a one-week-prior estimate (approximate).

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Brazil's Anatel approved AST SpaceMobile for commercial service in Brazil and allocated a 10 MHz by 10 MHz block of S-band spectrum at no cost, contingent on the company meeting the country's requirements; discussed as recent news in the episode without a precise date given (month-precision estimate). Disclosed by Scott Wisniewski at the William Blair investor conference (held the day before this episode); AST received approval to use a 10x10 MHz dedicated spectrum allocation in Brazil for its direct-to-device service.

Richer detail from this episode (recorded the same evening): the anomaly involved New Glenn's newly-built third booster during a static-fire test ahead of the planned Amazon LEO launch; the explosion destroyed most of launch pad SLC-36. Blue Origin was already separately building a second, larger pad nearby designed for both the current and a bigger future New Glenn variant. Booster 1 had been lost previously and Booster 2 was believed undamaged (housed in a nearby integration facility); this event destroyed the third booster, with Booster 4 in production and Booster 5 planned, and Blue Origin expecting to complete three more boosters this year. Approximately 14 second stages had been built (15th in progress) with 4 now used/lost. Update: Blue Origin's David Limp confirmed the anomaly was caused by a faulty liquid oxygen valve; Blue Origin is retrofitting other launch equipment/boosters to address the failure mode, per Kook's Aug 8, 2026 update.

AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 9 satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral on the 27th (of May 2026), ahead of an expected Falcon 9 launch campaign; company/community social posts described '3 satellites officially arrived at Cape Canaveral' with the word 'campaign' and 10 rocket emojis, which Kook interprets as signaling multiple upcoming launches.

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Anpanman states Brazil just granted AST the ability to operate there and allocated an S-band spectrum band, in an environment where some S-band spectrum has not been exclusively allocated to Starlink; he speculates the allocation could be a 10-by-10 band and could roll over to the US and Europe.

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The EU published new rules governing 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum 'last week' relative to this June 1, 2026 episode (approximate date). Kook and other Space Mob community members read the rules as designed to squeeze out EchoStar and Viasat and reallocate spectrum toward European or Europe-compliant operators, with AST SpaceMobile's SatCo/European ConnectNow JV structured to potentially qualify for an allocation, though the extent of any AST-specific grant remains undetermined (speculative).

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FCC ECFS submission type REPLY TO COMMENTS, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-05-22 (US/Eastern). Docket RM-12020: OET and WTB Seek Comment on Qualcomm's Petition for Rulemaking to Allocate Spectrum and Establish Service Rules for a New Communications Service in Portions of the 1675-1695 MHz and 5350-5470 MHz Band (Office of Engineering & Technology). Docket 19-116: In the Matter of Allocation and Service Rules for the 1675-1680 MHz Band (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau). Document(s): AST - Reply Comments on Qualcomm PFR.pdf. ECFS submission 10522124800507. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-05-21 (US/Eastern). Docket 26-78: 2026 Communications Marketplace Report (Office of Economics And Analytics). Document(s): AST - Comments on Competition in the Comms Marketplace PN.pdf. ECFS submission 10521307279238. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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Wisniewski stated AST expects to be free-cash-flow positive before $1 billion in annual revenue, cited a $1.2 billion revenue backlog, described 10 distinct government use cases (about 3 currently meaningful for revenue), and detailed launch-provider capacity: Falcon 9 (3 satellites/launch), New Glenn (moving from 4 to 8/launch), Vulcan (5/launch), ISRO (2/launch), MHI (3/launch), and Ariane 6 (5/launch). Date approximate (week preceding the May 26, 2026 episode).

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A community researcher found in a Ligado Chapter 11 filing that AST's satellites are now designed for an approximately 15-year useful life, attributed to a change in operating altitude; expected to reduce future satellite-replacement capital expenditure. Date approximate (week preceding the May 26, 2026 episode).

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In a keynote address on the morning of 2026-05-19, AT&T CEO John Stankey answered a question about the new AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile satellite connectivity joint venture, stating AT&T's partnership with AST SpaceMobile 'remains strong' and laying out four strategic JV rationales (unified standards/lobbying, low-band/mid-band spectrum pooling, fostering a wholesale satellite market, and shared ground-station infrastructure) that describe AST's network-integrated architecture. This followed T-Mobile's CEO making related but vaguer comments about the JV the previous day.

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AST SpaceMobile company post "BlueBird 8 & 10 Shipment" (published 2026-05-19 16:12:38 UTC). The post body is empty; the title is the whole of its content. Ledger date 2026-05-19 is the publication date of the post, NOT necessarily the date the event occurred — ast-science.com uploads clips in batches (three posts went up within 85 seconds on 2026-05-19). Source is company-published promotional media, not a regulatory filing; treat figures as company-stated. Permalink: https://ast-science.com/ast-spacemobile-bluebird-8-10-shipment/

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AST SpaceMobile company post "98.9 mbps speed test" (published 2026-05-19 16:12:11 UTC). The post body is empty; the title is the whole of its content. Ledger date 2026-05-19 is the publication date of the post, NOT necessarily the date the event occurred — ast-science.com uploads clips in batches (three posts went up within 85 seconds on 2026-05-19). Source is company-published promotional media, not a regulatory filing; treat figures as company-stated. Permalink: https://ast-science.com/ast-spacemobile-98-9-mbps-speed-test/

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Kook reports the shipped satellites are numbered 8, 10, and 9 (shipped in that unusual order) and are now at the SpaceX payload processing facility; the previously-pending third satellite has now shipped, completing the batch AST had announced incrementally. Target history: shipment was originally guided for April 2026 (~30 days from Apr 20), then mid-May; the batch shipped May 17, 2026.

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In this CNBC interview (aired the morning of May 18, 2026), Abel Avellan called the AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile joint venture 'great news,' saying it makes direct-to-device connectivity standard across every carrier and gives AST access to every operator in the US. He further detailed AST's spectrum position underpinning this: over 45 MHz owned outright in North America, roughly 60 MHz of priority rights outside North America, plus access to partner MNOs' IMT spectrum (some partners able to allocate close to 100 MHz), and cited a recent demonstration of close to 100 Mbps from space directly to a regular phone plus over 3,800 patents/patent-pending claims.

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Q1 2026 revenue reported at $14.7 million versus Street estimates of roughly $37-39 million; company reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $150-200 million; operating expenses of $79.8 million were in line with prior guidance of $70-80 million. Target history: previously flagged as the anticipated Q1 2026 earnings/update date.

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Company confirmed via Q1 2026 10-Q and earnings call that the AST5000 ASIC chip is now in production and being integrated into Microns, ahead of some analysts' expectations of a further 9-18 month delay.

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AST disclosed 3 new US government contract awards since March 2026, bringing total government contracts to 14 (from 11); covers secure communications and non-communications capabilities with potential to grow into programs of record.

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Disclosed on the Q1 2026 earnings call alongside AST's existing SpaceX, Blue Origin, and ISRO launch agreements; Kook cites the company stating roughly 5 AST satellites can fit on a ULA (Centaur) rocket.

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On the Q1 2026 earnings call, Scott Wisniewski explicitly confirmed radar capability for the first time (previously only alluded to as 'non-communication use cases'), and Abel Avellan stated it does not require mid-band spectrum and has already been deployed and used today on low-band spectrum.

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Disclosed on the Q1 2026 earnings call as cumulative contracted revenue commitments secured from AST's commercial (MNO) partners to date.

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TELUS joins Bell as AST's commercial partners in Canada (TELUS also made an equity investment); Axian Telecom, a pan-African operator active in 11 countries, joins existing AST agreements with Vodacom, Orange, and MTN in Africa. Disclosed on the Q1 2026 earnings call.

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PR release showing engineers testing satellite-to-phone speed from a boat in the Bahamas with no terrestrial coverage; achieved 98.9 Mbps (rounded to 99) download to a direct, unmodified standard mobile phone using the original five Block 1 BlueBird satellites; company guidance states next-gen (Block 2) satellites expected to nearly double this speed.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2026-05-11, reporting events of 2026-05-11. Accession 0001193125-26-216946. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-05-11 (US/Eastern). Docket 26-54: Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST Comments re WSS 5-11-26.pdf. ECFS submission 105112802502610. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

Pre-planned sales over Apr 14-15 and Apr 27-May 5, 2026; disclosed on Schedule 13D/A.

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Rank Day for the Russell 1000 index's annual reconstitution occurred the day before this episode; a pro forma index-weighting update for AST is expected over the following four weeks, effective by end of May 2026.

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As of the episode's publish date, AST had built roughly 32 (Anpanman later says 'mid to high 30s') Micron satellite bus units and paused further Micron production to shift to building Microns using the AST5000 ASIC instead of FPGAs; the company also received an additional batch of ring components said to support production of roughly 20 more satellites.

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A separate FCC order (distinct from the April 21, 2026 SCS/constellation authorization) reaffirmed incumbent licensees' exclusive spectrum rights and dismissed with prejudice SpaceX's L-band applications, removing SpaceX as an L-band competitor and reinforcing AST's Ligado lease; the order also curtailed some of AST's pending international S-band (2 GHz) requests. Exact date within the week of April 20-24, 2026 is approximate.

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FCC Order and Authorization DA 26-391 (file SAT-MOD-20250612-00145) authorizing an NGSO constellation of up to 248 satellites and first major commercial SCS grant. Enables direct-to-device using 700 MHz and 800 MHz low-band with AT&T, Verizon and FirstNet; V-band gateway links; S-band/UHF TT&C. Deployment milestones: 124 satellites by Aug 2, 2030, full 248 thereafter. Announced by AST Apr 22, 2026.

source 1 ↗; source 2 ↗

At an investor breakfast during the launch trip to Orlando (around the April 19, 2026 New Glenn launch), Abel Avellan disclosed BlueBird 7 was capable of 150 Mbps per beam, up from prior guidance of 'greater than 120 Mbps.' Exact date approximate.

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CelesTrak SATCAT lists SPACEMOBILE-007 with DECAY_DATE 2026-04-20 and OPS_STATUS_CODE 'D' (decayed). Catalogued from the 2026-04-19 launch (2026-085A). On-orbit lifetime 1 day(s) — the object was tracked and catalogued before reentry, so it did separate and reach orbit. Final SATCAT ORBIT_TYPE 'IMP'. Last catalogued orbit 485 x 265 km. Launch site code AFETR. Ground-truth orbital catalogue data, independent of any company statement or launch-provider report.

source ↗

BlueBird 7 (Block 2, FM2) launched on Blue Origin New Glenn's 3rd flight (first booster reuse) from Cape Canaveral SFC. Booster landed successfully, but a second-stage BE-3U underperformed, leaving BB7 in a ~265x400 km orbit too low to sustain; satellite declared lost and deorbited Apr 20, 2026. FAA opened a mishap investigation. AST confirmed the satellite was insured for more than its replacement cost and that Blue Origin, per industry custom, is providing a free replacement launch (rather than a cash refund) on a future flight expected to carry multiple BlueBirds; the loss does not affect AST's ability to meet its SDA/DoD obligations, since BlueBird 7 was a backup to the already-successful BlueBird 6 (FM1). Target history: FM2/BlueBird 7 was successively targeted for Dec 2025 (via ISRO), then New Glenn 3 in late March 2026, then 'no earlier than' Apr 10, 2026; it launched Apr 19, 2026. Launch Library 2 status: Launch Failure. Blue Origin New Glenn from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Payload: BlueBird Block 2 #2 to LEO. COSPAR launch designator 2026-085. NET 2026-04-19T11:25:00Z (net_precision: Minute; all dates UTC). Launch Library failure reason: "AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 successfully launched on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, but was placed into an unusable lower orbit and will be deorbited despite the booster landing successfully." Launch Library 2 record: https://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.3.0/launches/53769468-bfd3-45c7-a52b-46a68ed7510f/ Payload: BlueBird 7 (Block 2 #2) to LEO.

Anpanman recounts that at the Bluebird 7 launch, Abel Avellan disclosed for the first time that the network was achieving over 160 Mbps of performance, an improvement over the previously cited ~120 Mbps baseline.

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Anpanman describes a same-day filing by AST to the FCC addressing interference coordination with the National Science Foundation and a radio telescope association, characterized as a final housekeeping step ahead of full commercial SCS approval.

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In a CNBC interview aired the day of this episode, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr described the direct-to-device satellite market as consisting of three players — Starlink, Amazon, and AST SpaceMobile — while noting additional entrants were possible. Anpanman views this as a favorable regulatory signal ahead of AST's pending SCS/constellation approvals.

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Richer deal specifics per Anpanman: $11B deal fixed at $90/share (mix of stock and cash, with a stock-election option); Globalstar reportedly explored a sale starting spring 2025, with serious/confidential talks beginning fall 2025; deal not expected to close before end of Q1 2027, potentially extending into summer/fall 2027 pending regulatory review; Apple currently owns ~20% of Globalstar and controls ~85% of its satellite capacity; MDA Space previously contracted to build 17 legacy-replenishment satellites plus a separate ~50-satellite next-gen 'C3'/Aurora-platform constellation; Amazon separately plans to build its own D2D satellites targeting a 2028 rollout (Anpanman views 2029-2030 as more realistic); acquired spectrum comprises Globalstar's 16.5 MHz S-band downlink, 8.7 MHz L-band uplink (~7.7 MHz net of ~1 MHz shared with Iridium), and 339 MHz C-band feeder-link spectrum — roughly a third of AST's US Ligado-leased spectrum and a third of Starlink's holdings.

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An Antonov cargo plane flew a shipment of next-gen composite rings from an Indian composites manufacturer into Midland Spaceport, confirmed directly by Midland Spaceport as being for AST SpaceMobile; the rings (an estimated 6-8) are destined for BlueBird 14 through 20 and will become ring batches 3/4 (possibly 5) after integration with microns and other payload components.

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Per Scott Wisniewski's translated interview (relayed by Kook), BlueBird 6/FM1 is performing very well, has completed antenna unfurling, and is next being prepared for release to customer use; exact interview date not stated, reported in the episode published 2026-04-05.

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A federal bankruptcy judge reportedly told Viasat's counsel (Quinn Emanuel) they had 'a lot of chutzpah' for their courtroom positions in the Ligado matter; AST's contingent payment is now effectively held in escrow pending resolution of potential damages claims. Exact hearing date not stated beyond 'this week,' reported in the episode published 2026-04-05.

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FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-04-01 (US/Eastern). Docket 26-48: Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs Seek Comment on Satellite Market Access Reciprocity (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Comments on Satellite Market Reciprocity PN (4-1-26).pdf. ECFS submission 10401425920419. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

Sebastian Petty states Q1 2026 revenue came in 'just shy of $15 million,' within the reiterated full-year 2026 guidance range of $150-200 million; not disputed by Wisniewski.

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Sebastian Petty states AST 'ended the first quarter with approximately $3.5 billion in cash,' fully funded for over 100 satellites with no plans for additional convertible debt; not disputed by Wisniewski.

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TELUS entered a new commercial agreement and made a roughly $5 million direct stock subscription investment at approximately $80.66 per share, purchased directly from the company rather than on the open market; disclosed in the Q1 2026 10-Q (exact date within Q1 2026 not specified).

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Kook cites a new ITU filing including inclined and equatorial orbital shells, expanding beyond AST's previously stated 248-satellite plan; Kook explicitly says he is not certain of the exact satellite count. Date is approximate ('this week' relative to the March 29-30, 2026 episode).

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A prior MOU (announced roughly a year earlier) with Singapore's Defense Science and Technology Agency was finalized/printed this week, per Kook, providing a repeatable commercial blueprint for similar government/defense deals. Date is approximate ('this week' relative to the episode).

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Around St. Patrick's Day, Vodafone Ireland publicized a video-call demonstration (video of the Vodafone Ireland CEO and a photo of Ireland's Prime Minister), with a briefly shown signal-to-noise/power-flux-density graphic that community analysts used to validate Bluebird/BlueWalker 3 beamforming performance. Date is approximate, tied to St. Patrick's Day per Kook.

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Kook states a consolidated opposition to objections was filed in the Ligado spectrum docket 'this last week' (relative to the March 22, 2026 recording), with the public comment period closed and no confirmed FCC approval timeline yet; date is an approximation based on 'last week' framing.

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Kook cites AT&T's public statement (made 'this week' relative to the March 15 episode) committing roughly $250 billion toward advancing U.S. connectivity and specifically naming ASTS as the named satellite solution to be integrated with AT&T's fiber network; exact announcement date approximate.

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Verizon removed its long-standing petition to deny AST SpaceMobile at the FCC this week, following its 2024 MOU and 2025 definitive commercial agreement with AST; Kook views this docket cleanup as a signal that SES/SCS approval may be near. Exact withdrawal date approximate (stated as 'this week'). Verizon formally withdrew its long-standing opposition filed in AST SpaceMobile's FCC commercial-access docket, following its 2024 $100M investment/spectrum partnership with AST; seen as a signal that FCC commercial approval is close.

FirstNet's website now states satellite coverage extends 'to virtually anywhere' via AST SpaceMobile, and highlights push-to-talk functionality for first responders. Exact update date approximate (noted as a recent site change this week).

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FirstNet added a section to its website describing AST SpaceMobile satellite service, framed as a step toward commercial availability later in the year with an initial smaller device rollout followed by broader expansion.

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Following a photo published by Heospace showing BlueBird 6's ~2,400 sq ft array fully deployed in orbit, AST SpaceMobile retweeted it with a caption calling BlueBird 6 'the largest commercial communications array in LEO' and stating it is 'expected to greatly exceed 120 megabits per second peak data speeds.'

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FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-03-06 (US/Eastern). Docket 24-30: World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee for WRC-27 (Office of International Affairs). Document(s): AST - Comments on WRC-27 WAC Recommendations (March 2026).pdf; Attachment A to AST - Comments on WRC-27 WAC Recommendations (March 2026).docx. ECFS submission 10306627013249. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

AST signed a new partnership with Axion Telecom, covering key African markets, described as the 6th-largest mobile operator in Africa with approximately 43 million subscribers.

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New definitive commercial agreement with Canadian carrier Telus; the agreement also states Telus will become an AST equity shareholder, mechanism unspecified. Date is approximate (recent, within the week or two before the March 9, 2026 episode).

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Four of the top five mobile network operators in Europe announced during Mobile World Congress that they will work with Satellite Connect Europe, AST SpaceMobile's joint venture with Vodafone.

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Smaller Swiss carrier Sunrise announced during Mobile World Congress that it will work with Satellite Connect Europe.

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Taiwan Mobile, one of Taiwan's top three carriers, announced a partnership with AST SpaceMobile — AST's first carrier deal in Taiwan.

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Revealed at a Barclays fireside chat that the primary cause of recent launch delays was certification of the mechanism for stacking multiple large BlueBird satellites within a rocket fairing (including the fairing's horizontal-to-vertical rotation); certification has now reportedly been completed, clearing the path to resume shipping at pace. Date is approximate (within the week or two before the March 9, 2026 episode).

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Following recent convertible note raises and ATM equity sales, the company reported $3.9 billion of pro forma cash, said to fully fund its initial ~100-satellite constellation, with roughly $80 million of ATM capacity remaining; management said no additional funding is needed near-to-medium term.

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Up from approximately $1 billion disclosed in Q3 2025; management suggested annual contribution could run $100-300 million per year and that the figure likely understates eventual realized revenue.

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Up from 10 active government contracts at end of 2025, following a recent additional award; contracts are milestone/per-satellite based rather than requiring full constellation deployment.

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Up from a prior range Anpanman recalls as roughly BlueBird 8 through 19 (his recollection of the earlier figure is uncertain); company expects to complete Micron assemblies for 40 satellites by first half of 2026, a one-quarter slip from a prior Q1 2026 target.

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Adds a new heavy launch provider to its manifest as a standby customer, alongside Blue Origin New Glenn, SpaceX Falcon 9, and ISRO; identity not disclosed on the call, though Anpanman speculates it is Mitsubishi Heavy.

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Competitive-landscape development: Europe's largest MNO partners with Starlink, with commercial service contingent on SpaceX's Starship reaching commercial launch cadence around mid-2027; relevant context for AST's SatCo/European spectrum ambitions.

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The previously scheduled Q4/full-year 2025 earnings call took place as planned on March 2, 2026, with Abel Avellan, Scott Wisniewski, and Andy Johnson presenting; results, guidance, and Q&A were later published as this podcast episode on March 3, 2026.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2026-03-02, reporting events of 2026-03-02. Accession 0001780312-26-000005. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Kook states that on the Friday before this episode, Morgan Stanley added AST SpaceMobile to one of its world indices, increasing forced-buyer demand and locking up an estimated additional ~2% of shares outstanding, improving stock liquidity.

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Vodafone issued a press release and a new SatCo-branded website went live, per Anpanman, on the day of this episode (Feb 27, 2026).

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AST SpaceMobile USA (wholly-owned defense subsidiary) awarded a ~$30M prime contract by the U.S. Space Development Agency under the Europa Track 2 Commercial Solutions program (HALO), for resilient direct-to-device tactical communications using the dual-use BlueBird constellation. This is the first-ever prime contract awarded directly to AST SpaceMobile USA — prior DoD work was as a subprime via contractors such as Fairwinds and AT&T — and brings AST's cumulative military/government award count to 11 (from 10 after the January 2026 MDA SHIELD Golden Dome award). Community estimates put ~$50M available across ~19 Europa Track 2 participants, making AST's $30M roughly 60% of that pool.

businesswire (source ↗); Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-26-007772)

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2026-02-20, reporting events of 2026-02-20. Accession 0001493152-26-007626. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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FCC ECFS submission type SUPPLEMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-02-20 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): Supplemental Letter re Orbital Debris 2-20-26.pdf. ECFS submission 102202160628149. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

AST SpaceMobile disclosed that Bluebird 7 (Block 2) had been encapsulated into the fairing of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket ahead of its launch, following its earlier shipment to and encapsulation at Cape Canaveral in February 2026.

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FCC ECFS submission type REPLY TO COMMENTS, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-02-18 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-306: Space Modernization for the 21st Century (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Reply Comments on Space Modernization (2.18.2026).pdf. ECFS submission 102183006208161. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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FCC ECFS submission type REPLY TO COMMENTS, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-02-18 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-59: Upper C-band (3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz) (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Reply Comments on Upper C-Band NPRM (2.18.2026).pdf. ECFS submission 10218010955109. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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A filing made about a month before the episode used the wrong upper spectrum limit for TT&C; the error, caught by SpaceX, has since been corrected in the docket. Date is approximate (month precision, 'last month' relative to the March 9, 2026 episode).

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Following February 2026 equitization transactions, AST converted approximately $457 million of the outstanding $460 million January 2025 convertible notes into 19.2 million Class A shares, and $250 million of the outstanding $575 million July 2025 convertible notes into 4.5 million Class A shares.

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AST SpaceMobile filed with the FCC (in the week before this episode) pursuing 2 GHz spectrum globally, positioning against incumbent holders EchoStar and Viasat/Inmarsat, ahead of an anticipated EU spectrum allocation decision targeted for May 2027 via the Vodafone joint venture.

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Priced 2026-02-12, settled 2026-02-17. $1.0B base plus $75M option = $1,075.0M aggregate. 2.250% coupon, due 2036. Initial conversion price ~$116.30/share (~20% premium). Distinct from the October 2025 2.00% 2036 notes. Scotiabank was removed from AST's underwriting syndicate (after repeatedly downgrading the stock) while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were added — read by Kook as a sign of broadening institutional interest. Target history: guided as an offering of roughly $1.15B alongside retirement of portions of existing convertible notes; priced at $1.075B.

Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-26-006223, 007126); businesswire (source ↗)

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2026-02-17, reporting events of 2026-02-12. Accession 0001493152-26-007126. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2026-02-11, reporting events of 2026-02-11. Accession 0001493152-26-006223. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Surfaced by Anpanman during the week of this episode; Hyundai Motor Group and Vodafone IoT announced a partnership to deploy connected cars in 5 Middle East countries, extending Vodafone/AST-adjacent IoT connectivity into the automotive sector. Date is approximate (stated only as 'this week' relative to the 2026-02-10 episode publish date).

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Kook and co-host finding (credited to community member 'Katsy') of an FCC filing indicating AST SpaceMobile is conducting testing involving iPhone 17 series devices. Date is approximate (stated only as recent/'this week' relative to the 2026-02-10 episode publish date); exact filing date not given in the episode.

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BlueBird 7 (Block 2) was delivered to Cape Canaveral and encapsulated for its New Glenn launch during February 2026 (month precision). The satellite was subsequently lost due to the April 2026 New Glenn upper-stage anomaly.

AST 10-Q source ↗

Williams joins as director for system integration, test, and operations for federal programs after 28 years at Raytheon as missile defense chief; cited by Kook as validation of AST's growing defense business. Exact hire date not stated by Kook (approximate; episode recording date used).

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New FCC filing by AST seeking a 5 MHz sliver of 2 GHz spectrum in the US, positioned between EchoStar's and SpaceX's existing spectrum holdings. Exact filing date not stated (approximate; episode recording date used).

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AST and Vodafone (via SatCo) submitted a confidential response as part of the EU's process for allocating 2 GHz MSS spectrum, confirming active pursuit of the spectrum. Exact filing date not stated (approximate; episode recording date used).

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The Ligado-related FCC filing tied to AST's long-term L-band spectrum lease has been accepted for public notice, advancing the regulatory process. Exact date not stated (approximate; episode recording date used).

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AST hosted/sponsored a black-tie dinner for senior US Army leadership, including Golden Dome program director Mike Gutling, reflecting deepening government relationships. Exact date not stated (approximate; episode recording date used).

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Blue Origin ended its New Shepard suborbital tourism program to concentrate resources on scaling New Glenn, AST's heavy-lift launch partner for Block 2 BlueBird satellites. Exact date not stated (approximate; episode recording date used).

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SpaceX filed with the FCC (reported by Anpanman as having occurred 'yesterday' relative to this recording) seeking authority for a constellation of up to 1 million satellites dedicated to AI data center applications in orbit, following a social-media exchange in which Musk jokingly suggested the true figure was 1 billion. The filing also reportedly proposes satellite end-of-life decommissioning via solar-directed propulsion rather than atmospheric deorbiting.

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FCC ECFS submission type SUPPLEMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-01-28 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST Supplement - S3065 (1.28.2026).pdf. ECFS submission 10128098202359. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

A joint meeting between AST SpaceMobile, AT&T, Verizon, FirstNet, and consultants Dave Marshak Group and RKF with the FCC, read by Anpanman as a sign that the FCC decision on AST's US market/SCS application is in its final stages; attendees were attorneys/representatives rather than C-suite principals.

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FCC ECFS submission type REPLY, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-01-22 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-340: Space Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Accept for Filing Application of SpaceX Requesting NGSO MSS Authorization and Supplemental Coverage from Space Authorization and Seek Comment on Waivers (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Reply Comments on SX 15k MSS Constellation.pdf. ECFS submission 1012223089280. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2026-01-20 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-306: Space Modernization for the 21st Century (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Comments on Space Modernization_Part 100 NPRM (1-20-26).pdf. ECFS submission 10120212727949. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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AST's FCC filings state: 'we are currently producing approximately 6 satellites a month from our Midland facility,' cited by Kook as evidence the company is now launch-constrained rather than production-constrained. Exact filing date approximate (episode recording date used). Also relayed by Anpanman in the Jan 22, 2026 episode, which likewise dated the filing only as 'recent' -- this row's earlier date is the tighter bound on when the filing existed.

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Awarded a prime-contractor position on a 10-year IDIQ vehicle under the MDA SHIELD program, part of the broader 'Golden Dome' missile-defense architecture (program ceiling cited at ~$151B; award is a bid vehicle, not immediate cash). Enables dual-use BlueBird satellites to host government-only payloads alongside commercial roaming. 'AST SpaceMobile USA, LLC' was found listed in the third tranche of SHIELD recipients on Sam.gov on Thursday 2026-01-15, followed the next day by an AST press release confirming participation and a post from President Scott Wisniewski confirming a 'Golden Dome indefinite quantity contract.' The stock rose roughly 10% on the initial discovery and continued higher the following day, adding an estimated $8B in market cap around the confirmation.

businesswire 2026-01-16 (source ↗); Form 8-K FY2026 (acc. 0001780312-26-000005)

Stake fell below the director-designation threshold. SEC Form 8-K filed 2026-01-16.

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Scott Wisniewski stated that AST's European distribution joint venture with Vodafone (SatCo), formed about a year prior, has signed up 21 of the European Union's member states to initial MOUs to drive utilization across Europe beyond Vodafone's own footprint (UK, Germany, Spain, France).

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Scott Wisniewski stated AST has over $1 billion of cumulative committed revenue signed to date from mutually exclusive, long-term contracts with its mobile network operator partners.

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Scott Wisniewski said AST has over $3 billion of cash and liquidity to build the approximately 100 satellites needed for its constellation over the next 1-2 years; stated alongside AST's prior disclosure of raising over $3 billion during 2025.

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Kook reports FCC letters confirm FM1 completed LEOP — the satellite is communicating with Earth, generating power, and detumbling as expected; the antenna-array unfurl (commissioning phase) had not yet occurred as of this recording. Exact confirmation date approximate (episode recording date used).

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FM2 arrived safely at the payload processing facility of its launch vehicle provider at Cape Canaveral. Likely provider is Blue Origin's New Glenn per differences in FCC filings versus prior SpaceX-launched satellites (Kook citing analysis by 'Tanner'), though not officially confirmed by the company. Exact arrival date approximate.

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AT&T COO Jeff McElfresh visited AST SpaceMobile's Midland facility and personally signed the FM2 satellite before it was shipped for launch, reflecting senior AT&T executive engagement ahead of AT&T's planned first-half-2026 beta service. Exact visit date approximate (episode recording date used).

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FirstNet publicly stated (via a tweet) a strategic investment upgrading the FirstNet network to include future public-safety-focused satellite-to-device features, including push-to-talk; Kook identifies this as referring to AST SpaceMobile, ahead of an expected formal FirstNet commercial deal. Exact announcement date approximate (episode recording date used).

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Kook cites AST's 10-K disclosure of minimum commitments of $250-325 million tied to future launch contracts as of 12/31/2025, separate from launch deposits already reflected as prepaid expenses on the balance sheet.

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Anpanman confirms via the Q4 earnings call that FY2025/Q4 revenue landed precisely at $71 million, the top end of the company's previously guided $50-75 million second-half-2025 range.

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Disclosed by Scott Wisniewski on the Q4 call as evidence of gateway sales staging ahead of commercial service activation across broad global geography.

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Anpanman states the company's cash and equivalents at the end of December 2025 were $2.8 billion, disclosed as part of pre-announced financials accompanying the new convertible note offering.

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FCC ECFS submission type RESPONSE, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-12-26 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST Ex Parte Response to SCS MOD Reply Comments (12.26.2025).pdf. ECFS submission 1227091546513. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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AST confirmed BlueBird 6 successfully unfolded its ~2,400 sq ft phased-array antenna, the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in low Earth orbit; ~10x data capacity of Block 1. The unfold used a single-arm, single-direction mechanism (vs. Block 1's two-arm/six-direction unfold) with 8 microns fused per rigid panel (vs. 2 in Block 1), on a fully self-encapsulated 'tuna can' design that jettisons no launch-vehicle-adapter debris. The several-day gap before the official announcement reflected detumbling, orientation and post-unfold system checks confirming no micron damage and that the spacecraft remained fully controllable.

source ↗

First Block 2 BlueBird (BlueBird 6 / FM1) launched on ISRO's LVM3-M6 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre; deployed ~15 min after 8:55 a.m. IST liftoff, a time AST/ISRO pre-announced as ~10:24 p.m. US Eastern on 2025-12-23. At 6,100 kg, the heaviest commercial payload LVM3 has launched to LEO; carries a ~2,400 sq ft array (3.5x Block 1). First satellite with the AST5000 ASIC. Target history: originally targeted for Dec 22, 2025 (launch from India via ISRO); launched essentially on schedule. Launch Library 2 status: Launch Successful. Indian Space Research Organization Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (GSLV Mk III) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India. Payload: BlueBird Block 2 #1 to LEO. COSPAR launch designator 2025-309. NET 2025-12-24T03:25:30Z (net_precision: Second; all dates UTC). Payload: BlueBird 6 (Block 2 #1) to LEO.

Referenced by Anpanman as having been hinted at by Abel Avellan around the BlueBird 6 launch; company had previously guided toward ~120 Mbps as an optimal speed before this higher in-orbit test result.

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Anpanman said AST disclosed (with photos) that BlueBird 7 was shipped toward Cape Canaveral either the day of or the day before the episode aired (episode recorded Sunday evening, Dec 21, published Dec 22, 2025); he expected arrival at the Cape by Monday or Tuesday.

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NDAA signing scheduled for 6:00 PM Eastern at the Oval Office on December 18, 2025 (the episode's publish date), formally establishing Golden Dome in federal law; passed with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, meaning repeal would require a subsequent act of Congress. Actual funding release depends on separate appropriations bills, hoped for around January 2026.

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Jennifer Manor, AST SpaceMobile's SVP of International Affairs, testified before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Committee on Energy and Commerce) on public safety communications; in response to a readiness question she stated production was at '6 satellites per day,' widely interpreted by Space Mob (including Anpanman and Jacob) as a misstatement of the company's actual 6-satellites-per-month fully-integrated production milestone.

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Company posted a photo of FM1 in the fairing, having been handed to the launch provider; Kook interprets this as AST having completed its side of launch preparation, with any further delay attributable to the launch provider. Launch itself expected within roughly one to two weeks (not yet occurred as of the episode).

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AT&T directed followers to FirstNet, which published videos showing first responders successfully testing satellite-to-phone connectivity equipment; released 'this week' relative to the Dec 14, 2025 episode (exact day within the week not specified).

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Filed 'this week' per Kook, following closure of the prior SCS comment period; per Katzi's review of the filing, it references a planned 96-satellite mid-band constellation to be woven with AST's existing low-band constellation for improved beamforming/coverage. Exact filing day within the week not specified. Target history: the FCC filing for Ligado spectrum-transaction approval was originally anticipated around Nov 15, 2025.

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Flagged by the 'ASTS Investors' Twitter account; role intended to help bring composite-bus manufacturing capability in-house, viewed by Kook as addressing what has been a critical-path manufacturing item (composites) for BlueBird 8/8+ satellites. Posted 'this week' relative to the episode; exact day not specified.

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Ofcom framework allowing UK MNOs to provide satellite D2D using their licensed mobile spectrum via a licence variation, with interference and neighbour-country protections. Enables AST partner VodafoneThree to provide D2D using its 900 MHz spectrum.

source ↗

American Tower, an early strategic/pre-IPO investor holding roughly 2.5M Class A and 2.2M Class B shares, filed a Rule 144 notice after market close on December 9, 2025 to sell about 2.29 million Class A shares, executed the same day; American Tower retains a right of first refusal to build AST's gateway ground stations.

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At a UBS investor conference on December 9, 2025, AST President Scott Wisniewski disclosed plans for additional manufacturing space dedicated solely to producing Micron satellite modules (beyond the current ~500,000 sq ft footprint), and referenced a previously undisclosed 'government shell' of satellites alongside the known Block 1 low-band, Block 2 low-band, and Block 3 mid-band shells.

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AST/Ligado filed an FCC license-modification application (5 documents) reusing Ligado's existing SkyTerra One operating license rather than seeking a new one, adding AST-owned/operated 'SkyTerra Next' payloads onto AST's Block 3 mid-band Bluebird satellites; the filing followed the December 5, 2025 close of the comment period on AST's own SCS license-modification application. Parties have guided toward FCC approval in the first half of 2026 given a modification review typically runs 3-6 months versus 1-2 years for a new license, advancing activation of up to 40 MHz (US) / 45 MHz total (US+Canada) of L-band spectrum.

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FirstNet posted a demo video showing three public safety agencies (one federal, one state, one local) testing AST SpaceMobile satellite connectivity, with a teaser of further program updates to come; posted the day before this episode, ahead of a scheduled FirstNet board meeting.

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As of this UBS conference appearance, Scott Wisniewski stated AST has over $3.2 billion of pro forma cash and liquidity on the balance sheet and has capital in place to fund deployment of over 100 satellites, well in excess of its 45-60 satellite target for 2026.

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Original reply/pleading-cycle-close deadline was Oct 23, 2025 (DA 25-815); the Oct 1-Nov 12 FCC shutdown extended it (DA 25-943 equivalent-extension rule) to Dec 5, 2025, corroborated by the Nov/Dec 2025 reply filings cited in grant order DA 26-391.

source 1 ↗; source 2 ↗

FCC ECFS submission type RESPONSE, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-11-28 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Consolidated Response to Part 25 MOD Comments.pdf. ECFS submission 1128004621045. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

AST announced new manufacturing sites in Texas (new Midland facility) and Florida (Homestead), growing total footprint toward ~500,000 sq ft to accelerate Block 2 production. Company guidance of up to six satellites/month is a target, not an achieved rate.

source ↗

Blue Origin (via David Limp) publicly disclosed a heavier New Glenn variant featuring 9 BE-4 engines in the first stage and 4 BE-3 engines in the upper stage plus a larger fairing, capable of launching approximately 70 tons to LEO (vs. ~40-45 tons on the current New Glenn), with availability targeted sometime in 2027; estimated to fit up to ~12 Block 2 BlueBird satellites per launch versus up to 8 on the current New Glenn.

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A 13D filing (reported as coming out the Friday before this Nov 24 episode) disclosed that CEO Abel Avellan rolled his existing prepaid forward stock contract rather than letting it expire; the prior deal (~$17 floor/$46 cap on ~2.5 million shares) was replaced with a new deal at a $56 floor and $80 cap, executed for a cash credit, deferring any constructive stock sale below $80.

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New STAs for testing AST's direct-to-device service in Ireland through Vodafone came out approximately two weeks before this December 4, 2025 episode (month-level precision).

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Pleading cycle set by Public Notice DA 25-815 (Sep 5, 2025): comments/petitions originally due Oct 6, 2025. The Oct 1-Nov 12, 2025 FCC shutdown extended all deadlines (DA 25-943), moving the comment/petition deadline to Nov 18, 2025. The record was contested: T-Mobile and CTIA filed petitions to deny (later dismissed in grant order DA 26-391), with oppositions/comments from SpaceX, RWA, CCA, and numerous amateur-radio filers.

source 1 ↗; source 2 ↗

Blue Origin's New Glenn completed a fully successful second flight on Nov 14, 2025 — reaching orbit, delivering its payload (two Rocket Lab-built Escapade Mars satellites), and, for the first time, successfully landing its reusable booster on a sea barge. AST SpaceMobile has used New Glenn as a primary launch vehicle commitment since 2024; Anpanman characterizes this as a major de-risking event for AST's launch plans.

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At the Bank of America fireside chat, Scott Wisniewski said AST is fully funded for well over 100 satellite launches, beyond the 45-60 planned for next year, and indicated mid-band BlueBirds are expected to begin launching by the end of 2026.

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Update: Scott Wisniewski specified at Deutsche Bank's Global Space Summit that this over-$1-billion cumulative figure comes from 4 definitive commercial agreements — AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, and STC (Saudi Arabia) — structured as take-or-pay revenue commitments, separate from additional prepayments such as the $175 million expected from STC in November 2025.

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Award granted during the ongoing US government shutdown; remaining contract details to be finalized once the government reopens. Disclosed on the Q3 2025 earnings call.

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Up from 400,000 sq ft disclosed over the summer of 2025; disclosed on the Q3 2025 earnings call. Per analysis of a recent AST press release (cited by Kook via 'Tanner'), AST's total facility square footage has grown to nearly 500,000 sq ft, up from about 400,000 sq ft as of August 2025, reflecting continued physical-plant expansion ahead of planned production-rate scaling. Date approximate, tied to the same week as the AT&T promotional video.

Disclosed on the Q3 2025 earnings call; microns for these satellites are complete, with composite buses/control sets and mating/testing remaining.

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CFO Andy Johnson disclosed $3.2 billion of adjusted liquidity on the Q3 2025 earnings call (Nov 10, 2025), which Kook cites as evidence the company is well-funded and now fully funded to manufacture over 100 satellites.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-11-10, reporting events of 2025-11-10. Accession 0001193125-25-274360. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Vodafone partnered with Iridium for narrowband IoT service as a stopgap using Iridium's roughly 8 MHz of combined global L-band spectrum, until AST's own constellation is ready to provide IoT service; announced approximately the Friday before this Nov 12, 2025 episode.

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Plan for an EU satellite constellation with a European Satellite Operations Centre in Germany; AST filed ITU spectrum-coordination filings through Germany. SatCo will be majority-owned and controlled by Vodafone and EU MNO partners with AST as minority owner and satellite-operations provider, headquartered in Luxembourg with R&D/production in Spain. It will formally pursue an allocation of the EU's 2 GHz MSS spectrum (60 MHz total, held today by EchoStar and Inmarsat/Viasat) ahead of that band's May 2027 reallocation, and will also pursue PPDR (public protection and disaster relief) connectivity using cellular bands 698-703, 753-758, 733-736 and 788-791 MHz. MNOs across 21 EU member states have expressed interest; targeting commercial service live in 2026 with mid-band constellation launches beginning 2027.

source ↗

AST secured a $420 million non-recourse debt bridge loan (described by Kook as closed 'last week' relative to the Nov 9-10, 2025 episode) used to pay Inmarsat as part of the Ligado L-band spectrum transaction, structured so the debt does not encumber AST's core satellite operating business; intended to be replaced by takeout financing once FCC approval of the spectrum deal is obtained. Exact closing date approximate. Target history: the ~$420M Ligado spectrum payment was originally targeted for Oct 31, 2025; the bridge loan funding it closed in early November 2025.

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AST SpaceMobile posted that AT&T CEO John Stankey toured the Midland, TX facility to view rapid Block 2 BlueBird development; AT&T retweeted the post ('all in on those beautiful waffles'), drawing roughly 1,000 likes versus AT&T's typical sports-sponsorship engagement (~27 likes). Exact date approximate (week precision); reported as occurring 'this week' relative to the Nov 3, 2025 episode.

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FCC (under Chairman Brendan Carr) proposed a streamlined 'licensing assembly line' process to speed satellite approvals; AST's SES market access filing is now past its FCC reply-to-comment period, with Kook estimating approval could come within a couple of months (subject to possible government-shutdown delays). Exact date approximate (week precision); reported as occurring 'this week' relative to the Nov 3, 2025 episode.

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AST and IoT company Beware Holdings demonstrated standard cell phone chips functioning as asset trackers over AST's network. Exact date approximate (week precision); reported as occurring 'this week' relative to the Nov 3, 2025 episode.

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Achieved via three equitization transactions, including an additional $50 million converted in October 2025, leaving only $50 million of the January 2025 notes outstanding.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, filed 2025-11-03, reporting events of 2025-10-31. Accession 0001493152-25-020619. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

10-year commercial agreement with Saudi Arabia's stc group: $175M prepayment for future services plus a long-term commercial revenue commitment. stc's Saudi Stock Exchange disclosure states the contract value may exceed 9% of its audited 2024 revenue, implying a contract value of roughly $1.8B (Anpanman calculates stc's 2024 revenue at ~$20B). Includes three ground gateways in Saudi Arabia and a Riyadh network operations center. stc is not exclusive inside Saudi Arabia — AST also holds agreements/MOUs with Zain and Mobily — but receives exclusive rights in Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Djibouti, Tunisia and Sudan plus preferential commercial terms in nine other MENA markets (Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt). The deal covers 15 countries with a combined ~391 million wireless subscribers outside Saudi Arabia; stc itself has ~29 million domestic subscribers. Commercial service targeted Q4 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

businesswire (source ↗); Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-25-020005)

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2025-10-29, reporting events of 2025-10-29. Accession 0001493152-25-020104. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

AT&T CEO John Stankey visited AST SpaceMobile's Midland, Texas facility, followed by an AT&T promotional video referencing the visit; per the host's recap this occurred the day after AST's 3GPP standards inclusion and the day before the stc contract announcement. Date approximate.

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Per the host's monthly recap (attributed to 'Tanner'), AST was included in the 3GPP standards near the end of October 2025, ahead of an AT&T CEO Midland visit and the stc contract announcement. Exact date approximate based on the recap's relative sequencing.

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Priced 2025-10-21, settled 2025-10-24. Base upsized from $850M to $1.0B; full $150M option exercised for $1,150.0M total aggregate. 2.00% coupon, maturity 2036-01-15. Initial conversion rate 10.3845 shares per $1,000 (~$96.30/share, ~22.5% premium to 2025-10-21 close). Net proceeds ~$981.9M (on the $1.0B); also used part to repurchase ~$50M of prior notes. The bond was struck at 96 and, unlike AST's two earlier 2025 convertible offerings, carries no capped call.

Form 8-K filed 2025-10-24 (acc. 0001493152-25-019292) source 1 ↗; businesswire pricing release source 2 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2025-10-24, reporting events of 2025-10-21. Accession 0001493152-25-019292. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-10-21, reporting events of 2025-10-21. Accession 0001493152-25-018802. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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First Block 2 BlueBird (FM1 / BlueBird 6) transported from Midland to India by Antonov aircraft; arrived/unloaded at Chennai on Oct 16, 2025 for LVM3 launch preparations.

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Kook confirms FM1's shipment is underway aboard an Antonov cargo aircraft, describing a routing stop in Alaska en route to India, on what he calls the satellite's one-way 'Earth goodbye tour.'

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Anpanman said BlueBird 6 is the satellite on the Antonov cargo aircraft, which was picked up over the weekend before the October 13, 2025 recording and is on its way to India.

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Definitive commercial agreement with Verizon to support space-based cellular broadband across the continental US, upgrading the May 2024 MOU. Beta/test service targeted following in-orbit service activation.

businesswire (source ↗)

Entered a new Equity Distribution Agreement on 2025-10-07 to sell up to $800.0M of Class A common stock, with 10 investment banks as sales agents. As of 2025-10-20 the company had sold ~3.2M shares for aggregate net proceeds of ~$277.4M under the ATM. Against a market capitalization of ~$26.1B on 2025-10-06, a hypothetical full $800M draw would represent roughly 3% dilution.

Form 8-K filed 2025-10-21 (acc. 0001493152-25-018802) source 1 ↗; Form 8-K filed 2025-11-10 (acc. 0001193125-25-274360) source 2 ↗; StockTitan 8-K summary source 3 ↗

Verizon replaced its CEO on October 7, 2025 with an executive who previously served as PayPal's CEO and has sat on Verizon's board; Anpanman states this person is already familiar with the AST SpaceMobile relationship. The executive's name was captured inconsistently in the recording ('Paul Schuman'/'Paul Struman') and could not be confirmed against the reference materials.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2025-10-07, reporting events of 2025-10-07. Accession 0001493152-25-017216. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

AST SpaceMobile spectrum executive Jennifer Manor (formerly of EchoStar) joined the 3GPP consortium, which writes global cellular protocol standards, and became a board member of the US ITU Association; reported as occurring 'this week' relative to the October 6, 2025 episode, exact date approximate.

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Bell and AST completed Canada's first space-based direct-to-cell 4G VoLTE call, video call, broadband data, streaming, SMS and emergency alerts to an unmodified smartphone (test in New Brunswick, using AST BlueBird satellites and Bell's sovereign gateways). Supports Bell's plan to deploy LEO direct-to-cell service in 2026. (Bell partnership dates to a 2021 investment.)

CNW / newswire.ca source 1 ↗; BCE Inc Form 6-K filed 2025-11-06 (acc. 0000718940-25-000019) source 2 ↗

Announced the same day as Bell Canada's summer-2025 direct-to-cell testing news; part of Vodafone/AST's European SatCo buildout.

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Follow-through from an approximately 11-12% gain the prior day when Bluebird 6 (FM-1) readiness was first announced.

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Announced the day after a Vodafone CEO visit to the Midland facility; stock traded up roughly 11-12% on the announcement day, per Anpanman. Bluebird 7 (FM-2) also reported as basically ready to ship, expected later in October 2025.

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Precise Q3 2025 GAAP revenue figure disclosed as $14.7 million (up from ~$2 million in Q2 2025), driven by gateway hardware sales and commercial/US government service milestone achievements; company reiterated $50-75 million second-half 2025 revenue guidance.

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Actual quarter-end cash balance came in close to but slightly below Kook's own $1.3 billion model forecast, attributed to possible pulled-forward capex.

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Pro forma figure includes the October 2025 2.00% convertible notes offering and available ATM liquidity; drivers included ~$1.6 billion net proceeds from two 2025 convertible note offerings (July and October), ~$389 million net proceeds from 2025 ATM sales during Q3 and through October, and $74.5 million from unwinding the cap call tied to the January 2025 convertible notes.

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Anpanman describes the Vodafone CEO's visit to Midland (approximate date, described as 'last week' relative to the Oct 7, 2025 recording) to sign FM-1 because the satellite was complete and ready for shipment; short sellers initially misread the visit as evidence of delay, causing a brief ~$1-2 dip before the stock rallied from about $48-49 to close that week near $68.

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Following the confirmation hearing the prior week where the judge agreed to confirm the plan with the parties' agreed contract language, the formal written confirmation order was entered/came through on September 29, 2025. Per the plan, AST SpaceMobile is advancing $520 million to be paid onward to Inmarsat plus $80 million/year in ongoing lease payments for access to 45 MHz of mid-band (L-band) spectrum; the only remaining condition for the plan to become effective is FCC approval of AST's use of the spectrum, with a joint FCC application (Ligado, AST, and Inmarsat compelled to support) expected to be filed shortly.

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EchoStar announced a deal to sell its AWS-3 and AWS-4 spectrum, plus H-block spectrum adjacent to its existing G-block used for T-Mobile's Direct-to-Cell service, to SpaceX for approximately $17 billion, with EchoStar receiving over $7 billion of SpaceX stock (reportedly at a fixed value, ~$212/share) as part of the consideration; deal subject to FCC review.

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Kook described this as a 'quiet' approval granted this week: the FCC granted blanket STA approval to operate FM1 plus the next satellites, effectively covering the full 25-satellite Block 1 fleet already authorized, for gateway/feeder-link operations.

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AST's application covering the service-link connection between its satellites and phones was accepted for filing by the FCC on September 5, 2025; comments are due October 6, 2025, with the docket to be wrapped up by October 23, 2025.

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Anpanman states the application was 'just accepted on Friday of last week' relative to this Wednesday, September 10, 2025 episode, which corresponds to approximately September 5, 2025 (date approximate). This follows AST's June 12, 2025 FCC filing seeking authority for a full SCS constellation of up to 248 satellites using AT&T and Verizon spectrum.

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Scott Wisniewski stated the SatCo team had signed up 21 of the 28 EU member states for initial indications of interest in the satellite service, above and beyond the markets already under contract directly with Vodafone.

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Kook recalls Scott Wisniewski stating, around September 2025, that AST planned a new dedicated Micron production facility, with some government/defense (implied Golden Dome) applications potentially requiring their own production line of an extra ~240 satellites, distinct from AST's core commercial constellation buildout. Kook recalled this as background context in this July 2026 episode; exact date is approximate (month precision).

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Approval brings AST's total authorized fleet to 25 BlueBird satellites plus BlueWalker 3; higher operating altitude (~690 km) intended to reduce deorbit/maintenance needs versus lower-orbit alternatives. Date is Kook's approximate reference to 'the Friday before Labor Day' 2025 (Labor Day fell Sept 1, 2025).

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Inmarsat sought a clause barring AST from ever operating in L-band spectrum internationally; AST refused. The bankruptcy judge declined to rule on the international dispute now, and both parties agreed to carry forward previously negotiated binding mediation language into the final Ligado bankruptcy plan documentation, deferring any international L-band conflict to later litigation/mediation.

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Per an Urgent Comms article cited by Kook, AT&T and AST recently received regulatory approval to test using FirstNet spectrum, seen as a potential pathway toward broader commercial service-link approval.

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Company update (described by Kook as a Friday tweet/press release) changed language from 'will be ready to ship' to 'is ready to ship' in August 2025, which Kook interprets as confirmation FM1 completed environmental (thermal-vacuum) testing; the stock rallied on the news.

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FCC filings dated August 15, 2025 (surfaced publicly by an X user Anpanman refers to as 'Katsy') show Apple testing iPhone connectivity for supplemental coverage from space on the 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and PCS G block (1.9 GHz) bands. AST SpaceMobile is the only broadband satellite operator with spectrum access in the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands (via AT&T, Verizon, and FirstNet); the PCS G block is used by Starlink for T-Mobile's Direct-to-Cell service and 600 MHz is primarily T-Mobile spectrum. No Globalstar (L-band/S-band) spectrum appears in this filing.

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Company disclosed on the Q2 2025 earnings call that 2 additional US government contracts were awarded during the quarter, bringing the total to 8; described as 'programs of record' that can grow into hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

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Company disclosed on the Q2 2025 call that it terminated its at-the-market equity program (established May 2025) after using approximately $493 million of the authorized $500 million.

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On the Q2 2025 earnings call, the company stated it has fully funded the path to continuous coverage (45-60 satellites), beyond the original ~20-satellite Block 2 target; framed as meaning any further capital raise would be discretionary/strategic rather than necessary.

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Company disclosed FM1 is ready to ship as of August 2025 (shown in a pressure/thermal-vacuum test chamber); exact launch date to be mutually determined with ISRO, with the company stating it is not conditioned on anything else.

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Company disclosed on the Q2 2025 call that it (via the Vodafone European JV, SatCo) has received expressions of interest from network operators in 21 of the 27 EU member states for a sovereign direct-to-device mobile broadband satellite service.

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On the Q2 2025 call, the company held/reaffirmed its prior cost guidance ($21-23 million per satellite) and revenue guidance ($50-70 million), rather than revising either figure.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-08-11, reporting events of 2025-08-11. Accession 0000950170-25-106610. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type RESPONSE, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-08-11 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Response to SpaceX 30 July 2025 Opposition to Confidentiality.pdf. ECFS submission 10811446617151. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type REQUEST, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-08-06 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Request for Waiver of SCS Equipment Certification Rules.pdf. ECFS submission 1080618872852. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

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Agreement to acquire an entity holding S-band ITU MSS priority rights (1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz) for LEO use. Total consideration $64.5M, payable in stock or cash at AST's election: $26M at closing plus $38.5M deferred, part subject to performance milestones. Supplements AST's core 3GPP cellular spectrum strategy.

Form 8-K filed 2025-08-07 (acc. 0001493152-25-011675) source 1 ↗; TelecomTV 2025-08-07 source 2 ↗; RCR Wireless 2025-08-13 source 3 ↗

Agreement to acquire an entity holding certain S-band ITU priority rights to MSS frequencies at 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz for LEO use. Total consideration $64.5M ($26M at closing, $38.5M deferred/milestone-based), payable in stock or cash. Strengthens AST's global mid-band spectrum position.

AST 8-K source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type RESPONSE, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-08-05 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-201: SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING AST & SCIENCE, LLC MODIFICATION APPLICATION (Space Bureau). Document(s): AST - Consolidated Response to Skinny PN Comments.pdf. ECFS submission 10805136387802. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

Through two equitization transactions occurring during Q2 2025 and the following month, AST converted $360 million of the $460 million outstanding January 2025 convertible notes (due 2032) into 15.2 million Class A shares, reducing the outstanding balance on those notes to $100 million.

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FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-07-28 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-180: Satellite Spectrum Abundance (Space Bureau). Docket 22-352: Expanding Use of the 12.7-13.25 GHz Band for Mobile Broadband or Other Expanded Use (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Docket 23-158: Shared Use of the 42-42.5 GHz Band (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau). Docket 14-177: Spectrum Bands above 24 GHz (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Comments in Spectrum Abundance Proceeding.pdf. ECFS submission 10728294216067. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

In an FCC filing dated July 25, 2025, AST SpaceMobile states it anticipates launching up to 20 satellites, including FM1 and excluding the five Block 1 BlueBirds, through the end of 2025. The first two of these satellites, including FM1, will operate at an altitude of 520 kilometers; the remaining 18 will operate at 690 kilometers.

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Priced 2025-07-24, settled 2025-07-29. $500.0M aggregate, 2.375% coupon, maturity 2032-10-15. Initial conversion rate 13.8750 shares per $1,000 (initial conversion price ~$72.07/share); capped call lifted effective conversion price to ~$120.12/share.

Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-25-011384) source 1 ↗; Form 424B5 filed 2025-07-28 (acc. 0001493152-25-011428) source 2 ↗; businesswire pricing release 2025-07-25 source 3 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2025-07-29, reporting events of 2025-07-24. Accession 0001641172-25-021421. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

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SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-07-24, reporting events of 2025-07-24. Accession 0001493152-25-011384. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, filed 2025-07-18, reporting events of 2025-07-15. Accession 0001493152-25-011288. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-07-14 (US/Eastern). Docket 24-243: Lower 37 GHz Band (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau). Docket 14-177: Spectrum Bands above 24 GHz (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Comments re Lower 37 GHz.pdf. ECFS submission 1071400424583. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

Definitive agreement (2025-07-07) creating the jointly-owned European satellite service business SatCo, headquartered in Luxembourg, to exclusively distribute AST's broadband satellite services to European MNOs. Initial commercial services targeted for 2026; Germany later selected for the European Satellite Operations Centre.

Form 10-Q filed 2025-08-11 (acc. 0000950170-25-106627) source 1 ↗; Vodafone newsroom 2025-06-30 source 2 ↗

Jointly-owned European business (SatCo, Luxembourg HQ) to distribute AST direct-to-device service to European MNOs and pursue access to EU 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum — a pan-European sovereign D2D play. EU 2 GHz MSS award to SatCo not yet granted.

source 1 ↗; AST 10-Q source 2 ↗

AST received $25 million during Q2 2025 from the Trinity Capital equipment loan, a $100 million non-dilutive financing facility supporting manufacturing expansion through financed equipment.

from episode

Company reported $14 million in bookings for the quarter, primarily related to MNO purchases of infrastructure like gateways, with roughly $10 million per quarter expected going forward.

from episode

Disclosed by the company around the pricing of its new convertible note offering; company also terminated its existing ATM equity program in connection with the new deal.

from episode

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, filed 2025-07-03, reporting events of 2025-06-27. Accession 0001641172-25-017777. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Closing milestone: following a 2025-06-13 settlement term sheet resolving the Viasat/Ligado dispute (AST bankrolling Ligado's settlement), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the AST-Ligado spectrum transaction on 2025-06-23, clearing the path to long-term L-band access.

Ligado Networks statement on bankruptcy court approval, published 2025-07-01 source 1 ↗; Viasat settlement term sheet, GlobeNewswire 2025-06-13 source 2 ↗; SpaceNews 2025-06-13 source 3 ↗

U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved Ligado's restructuring transaction with AST; Ligado to receive ~$550M consideration (of which $535M to Inmarsat/Viasat). Advances AST's path to L-band MSS spectrum rights in North America, subject to FCC/ISED authorization.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2025-06-26, reporting events of 2025-06-23. Accession 0001641172-25-016581. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Settlement term sheet in Ligado's Chapter 11 facilitating long-term (80+ year) access to up to 45 MHz of premium lower mid-band (L-band MSS) spectrum in North America for direct-to-device, resolving Inmarsat inter-creditor issues around the L-band lease.

source ↗

AST announced completion of the electronic board built around its new AST5000 ASIC — the cornerstone of next-gen BlueBird satellites — after ~5 years of engineering (~150 man-years). ~10,000 MHz processing bandwidth, ~120 Mbps peak, ~10x Block 1 capacity.

source ↗

IBFS file no. SAT-MOD-20250612-00145 seeking authority to add SCS/direct-to-cell service using up to 248 satellites, operating with AT&T's 800 MHz (A/B blocks) and Lower 700 MHz (A/B/C blocks) and Verizon's 800 MHz (A/B blocks) under spectrum-lease agreements. Application expands prior 25-satellite authorization; adds the 243 satellites deferred by the FCC in 2024.

Entered an Equity Distribution Agreement on 2025-05-13 to sell up to $500.0M of Class A common stock via an ATM offering over ~three years, replacing the prior September 2024 ATM agreement.

Form 8-K source 1 ↗; Form 424B5 filed 2025-06-25 (acc. 0001641172-25-016372) source 2 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2025-05-13, reporting events of 2025-05-13. Accession 0001193125-25-118366. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-05-12, reporting events of 2025-05-12. Accession 0000950170-25-069317. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type COMMENT, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-04-29 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-110: Promoting the Development of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Technologies and Solutions (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau). Document(s): AST - Comments re PNT NOI (FINAL).pdf. ECFS submission 1042887278189. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

FCC ECFS submission type REPLY TO COMMENTS, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2025-04-29 (US/Eastern). Docket 25-133: In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Reply Comments re Delete Delete Delete (FINAL).pdf. ECFS submission 10428749124729. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

New award (month precision; April 2025) through a prime contractor with total expected revenue up to ~$20.0M for SpaceMobile capabilities supporting multiple U.S. government agencies. On the Q1 2025 earnings call management guided to low tens of millions of dollars of revenue over the next 12-18 months across land, sea and air communications use cases, describing the ~$20M ceiling as somewhat artificial to how such contracts are initially structured; the DIU had recently received $2B of additional government funding.

Form 10-Q filed 2025-08-11 (acc. 0000950170-25-106627) source 1 ↗; disclosed in the Q1 2025 results release 2025-05-12 source 2 ↗

AST reported $13.6 million of gateway equipment bookings in Q1 2025 and guided to approximately $10 million per quarter on average for the rest of 2025; gateways are a leading indicator of markets nearing initial service revenue.

from episode

Up from $567.5 million at the end of Q4 2024, driven by ~$403 million from the January 2025 convertible notes offering and ~$55 million from the remaining September 2024 ATM facility.

from episode

Definitive agreements providing for a $550.0M contingent payment from AST to Ligado on closing, AST obligation to make spectrum-access usage payments of at least $80.0M annually, long-term revenue-share payments, and issuance of penny warrants to Ligado. ~80-year access to up to 45 MHz lower mid-band spectrum in North America.

Form 10-Q filed 2025-05-12 (acc. 0000950170-25-069403) source 1 ↗; Form 424B5 filed 2025-06-25 (acc. 0001641172-25-016372) source 2 ↗

Definitive agreements: ~$550M contingent payment plus annual spectrum-access payments of at least $80M (SpectrumCo, beginning Sept 30, 2025) and revenue share, for use of up to 40 MHz of L-band MSS in US/Canada plus 5 MHz adjacent (1670-1675 MHz). Inmarsat/Viasat to support AST's FCC and Canadian ISED NGSO L-band applications. Closing contingent on FCC approval.

source 1 ↗; source 2 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 3.02, filed 2025-03-24, reporting events of 2025-03-22. Accession 0001641172-25-000330. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2025-03-04, reporting events of 2025-03-04. Accession 0000950170-25-031954. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Agreement to form a jointly-owned European satellite service business ('SatCo'), headquartered in Luxembourg, to exclusively distribute AST SpaceMobile's broadband satellite services to MNOs across Europe (network management/operations, ground stations for backhaul).

businesswire (source ↗); Vodafone newsroom

New award with ~$43.0M total expected revenue to provide testing services under SDA's HALO 'Europa' procurement (Track 2 Commercial Solutions program) using five Block 1 BlueBird satellites and one next-gen Block 2 BlueBird satellite. Entered through a prime contractor. On the Q4 2024 earnings call management added that this is AST's 5th U.S. government contract overall and 3rd with SDA; it is not prepaid, with revenue expected to be recognized roughly linearly over ~12 months (possibly lagging slightly at the start) against milestone-based testing/evaluation for non-communications applications. Follows a prior SDA contract on BlueWalker 3 announced February 2024.

businesswire (source ↗); Form 10-Q FY2025

ISED decision SMSE-001-25 establishing policy, licensing and technical framework enabling Canadian carriers to offer satellite-based supplemental mobile coverage using flexible-use/commercial mobile bands. Canadian analogue to the FCC SCS framework; supports AST's Canadian plans (Rogers).

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2025-02-07, reporting events of 2025-02-05. Accession 0001493152-25-005306. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Priced 2025-01-22, closed 2025-01-27. $400M base plus full $60M initial-purchaser option = $460.0M aggregate. 4.25% coupon, due 2032. Initial conversion price ~$26.99/share; capped call raised effective conversion price to ~$44.98/share (100% premium over the $22.49 close on 2025-01-22).

Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-25-003231) source 1 ↗; closing 8-K filed 2025-01-27 (acc. 0001493152-25-003793) source 2 ↗; businesswire closing release 2025-01-27 source 3 ↗; Freshfields deal note 2025-02-04 source 4 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, 3.02, filed 2025-01-27, reporting events of 2025-01-22. Accession 0001493152-25-003793. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, 3.02, filed 2025-01-22, reporting events of 2025-01-22. Accession 0001493152-25-003231. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Binding Restructuring Support Agreement (subsidiary AST & Science LLC) for 80+ year long-term spectrum usage rights to up to 40 MHz of L-band MSS spectrum in the US and Canada held by Ligado, plus access to an additional 5 MHz in the 1670-1675 MHz band in the US, for direct-to-device satellite applications.

businesswire (source ↗); Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-25-000384)

Binding term sheet for long-term access to up to 45 MHz of lower mid-band (L-band MSS) spectrum across the US and Canada for direct-to-device, tied to Ligado's Chapter 11 filing in Delaware on Jan 5, 2025. This 45 MHz is Ligado L-band MSS (not AWS-4/EchoStar).

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2025-01-07, reporting events of 2025-01-05. Accession 0001493152-25-001119. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Q4 2024 cash of $567.5 million (up from $518.9 million in Q3 2024) with ~$66 million remaining on the ATM; Q4 2024 non-GAAP adjusted cash opex of $40.8 million (vs. $45.3 million in Q3 2024); full-year 2024 non-GAAP adjusted cash opex of $151.8 million (vs. $154.6 million in 2023); Q4 2024 capex of approximately $86 million (~$77 million capitalized materials/labor for Block 2 BlueBirds and Midland facility expansion), versus $26.5 million in Q3 2024.

from episode

Definitive long-term commercial agreement through 2034 for Vodafone to offer space-based cellular broadband across its home markets and Partner Markets (incl. DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, India, Turkey and Partner Markets in Pacific/South America/Middle East). Financial terms not disclosed.

businesswire (source ↗); Nasdaq press release

AST launch services agreements to orbit up to ~60 Block 2 BlueBird satellites during 2025-2026 from Cape Canaveral and India: 45 secured via firm agreements with options extending to ~60. New Glenn (up to 8 sats/launch, on its 7-metre fairing), Falcon 9 (up to 4 sats/launch), and ISRO GSLV/LVM3 (1 sat/launch); planned cadence roughly '1, 4, 4, 8, 8, 8.' Average estimated per-satellite direct materials and launch cost raised to $19-21M (from a prior $16-18M).

source 1 ↗; AST 8-K source 2 ↗

Cash balance of $518.9 million at quarter-end (up from $287.6 million in Q2 2024); Q3 non-GAAP adjusted cash operating expenses of $45.3 million ($35.2 million excluding ~$10.1 million of ASIC costs); capital expenditures of $26.5 million.

from episode

AST submitted an STA request to the FCC to turn on its first five Block 1 BlueBird satellites for beta commercial service covering close to nationwide US coverage on a non-continuous basis for AT&T and Verizon; approval was described as pending/imminent.

from episode

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2024-11-14, reporting events of 2024-11-14. Accession 0000950170-24-127096. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

AST confirmed all five Block 1 BlueBird satellites had fully unfolded their 693 sq ft phased-array antennas by Oct 25, 2024; satellites deemed ready for intended use as of Oct 29, 2024.

source 1 ↗; AST 10-Q source 2 ↗

FCC ECFS submission type LETTER, filed by AST & Science, LLC, received 2024-10-24 (US/Eastern). Docket 23-135: Space Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Seek Comment on Filings of SpaceX and T-Mobile Requesting to Establish Supplemental Coverage from Space (General (Multiple Bureaus)). Document(s): AST - Response to SpaceX OOBE Letters (FINAL).pdf. ECFS submission 1024707413874. This records a FILING made by AST, not an FCC decision — ECFS holds submissions only, and licensing grants are not published here.

source ↗

In late September 2024, having raised over $500 million in net equity proceeds, AST triggered a mandatory prepayment obligation under its senior secured credit facility (established August 2023), prepaying $48.5 million of principal plus accrued interest, reducing go-forward interest expense.

from episode

AST's first five commercial Block 1 BlueBird satellites launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral SFC at 4:52 a.m. EDT. Each carries a 693 sq ft array; ~10x throughput of BlueWalker 3. Launch Library 2 status: Launch Successful. SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Payload: BlueBird Block 1 to LEO. COSPAR launch designator 2024-163. NET 2024-09-12T08:52:00Z (net_precision: Minute; all dates UTC).

AST created a new $400 million at-the-market (ATM) equity distribution facility in early September 2024; $106.9 million was raised from this facility during Q3 2024, contributing to $144.9 million total ATM proceeds for the quarter.

from episode

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2024-09-05, reporting events of 2024-09-05. Accession 0001193125-24-213775. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Announced 2024-08-28 the redemption of all outstanding public warrants at $0.01/warrant, effective 2024-09-27. 13,360,574 public warrants (~98.26%) were exercised for cash at $11.50/share, yielding ~$153.6M aggregate proceeds. Remaining 236,294 warrants redeemed for $2,362.94; ASTSW delisted.

Form 8-K filed 2024-09-30 (acc. 0001493152-24-038688) source 1 ↗; completion 8-K filed 2024-10-03 (acc. 0001493152-24-039227) source 2 ↗; Nasdaq press release source 3 ↗; completion release 2024-10-02 carrying the ~$153.6M proceeds figure source 4 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2024-08-14, reporting events of 2024-08-14. Accession 0000950170-24-097095. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC Space Bureau Order and Authorization (DA-24-756) granting launch/operation of BlueBird 1-5, including gateway/feeder-link and TT&C operations (call sign S3065); V-band gateway links. Launch/operate authority, distinct from SCS commercial-service authority. Announced by AST Aug 5, 2024.

source ↗

The five completed Block 1 BlueBird satellites were shipped from Midland to Cape Canaveral during the first week of August 2024 (month precision) ahead of their September launch window.

AST 8-K source ↗

As of end of July 2024, the company completed the 2-year use of its at-the-market (ATM) equity/common stock purchase facility, raising approximately $164 million in total (including ~$80 million during Q2 2024), using less than 75% of the combined facility capacity and at more than a 50% premium to the stock's volume-weighted average price.

from episode

AST announced completion/final testing of all five Block 1 BlueBird satellites at Midland, each with a 693 sq ft communications array, ready for shipment to the launch site. Each of the five cost approximately $28M to build — a figure Kook later cited to rebut analyst claims of ~$1B per satellite.

AST 8-K source ↗

CFO Andy Johnson stated that by the end of Q2 2024 the company incurred and paid all amounts for the five Block 1 satellites, with total spend not materially exceeding the prior estimate of $115 million.

from episode

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2024-06-07, reporting events of 2024-06-04. Accession 0001493152-24-023007. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Verizon MOU: $100M total commitment comprising $65M of commercial prepayments for prepaid service revenue ($20M non-refundable paid at signing, $45M subject to certain regulatory approvals) plus $35M of convertible notes. Verizon also submitted network-equipment purchase orders. Targets space-based service on 850 MHz across the continental US. AST received $55M of the commitment in cash during Q2 2024, including the $20M prepayment for future cellular broadband service.

Form 8-K filed 2024-05-29 (acc. 0001493152-24-021726) source 1 ↗; SpaceNews 2024-05-29 source 2 ↗; Advanced Television 2024-05-30 source 3 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 3.02, filed 2024-05-29, reporting events of 2024-05-23. Accession 0001493152-24-021726. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile signed a definitive commercial agreement to provide space-based broadband direct to standard phones across the continental US, extending through 2030 (converting the prior MOU). Uses AT&T's 850 MHz low-band spectrum; AT&T's Chris Sambar joined AST's board.

Form 8-K (acc. 0000950170-24-060494) source 1 ↗; AT&T newsroom source 2 ↗; SatNews source 3 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2024-05-15, reporting events of 2024-05-15. Accession 0000950170-24-060494. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Federal Register publication of 'Single Network Future: Supplemental Coverage From Space' (2024-06669). Most SCS rules became effective May 30, 2024, operationalizing the framework AST relies on for U.S. commercial direct-to-device.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2024-04-01, reporting events of 2024-04-01. Accession 0000950170-24-039386. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

AST announced the AST5000 ASIC — cornerstone of Block 2 BlueBirds — entered tape-out with TSMC. Custom low-power architecture for up to ~10x processing bandwidth per satellite versus the FPGA it replaces; ~4+ years of development, ~150 man-years, ~$45M invested (restated on the Q2 2024 earnings call as ~$45M over ~5 years of R&D). By that call the tape-out was complete, the first ASIC die had been received several weeks earlier and was being incorporated into the Micron satellite design, with ASIC use expected to start with the 6th Block 2 satellite.

source ↗

First-of-its-kind Report and Order allowing satellite operators to use terrestrial mobile spectrum for direct-to-handset service via carrier partnerships. Adopted Mar 14, 2024; released Mar 15, 2024. Eligible bands include 600 MHz, 700 MHz, Cellular/850 MHz, PCS/1.9 GHz, and FirstNet 758-769/788-799 MHz.

source 1 ↗; source 2 ↗

Up to $206.5M gross proceeds. Core: $110M of 10-year subordinated convertible notes from AT&T, Google and Vodafone at 5.50% annual interest (payable in kind) with a conversion price of $5.75/share; plus non-dilutive commercial prepayments (AT&T ~$20M revenue commitment, Vodafone $25M minimum revenue commitment) and a planned draw of up to $51.5M on the existing senior secured credit facility. Vodafone and AT&T placed network-equipment purchase orders.

Form 8-K (acc. 0001493152-24-002914); businesswire (source ↗)

Concurrent with the January 2024 AT&T, Vodafone, and Google strategic convertible investment, AST also priced a roughly $100 million equity offering of about 30 million shares near $3.25 per share to bridge financing while Verizon's due diligence was ongoing, resulting in an estimated 15-20% dilution.

from episode

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, 2.03, 3.02, filed 2024-01-18, reporting events of 2024-01-16. Accession 0001493152-24-002914. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-11-14, reporting events of 2023-11-14. Accession 0000950170-23-063726. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-10-25, reporting events of 2023-10-25. Accession 0001493152-23-038195. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.03, filed 2023-08-15, reporting events of 2023-08-14. Accession 0000950170-23-042594. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-08-14, reporting events of 2023-08-14. Accession 0000950170-23-042412. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-08-01, reporting events of 2023-08-01. Accession 0001493152-23-026169. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-05-15, reporting events of 2023-05-15. Accession 0000950170-23-022202. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-04-27, reporting events of 2023-04-26. Accession 0001493152-23-013731. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2023-03-31, reporting events of 2023-03-31. Accession 0000950170-23-011120. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-11-14, reporting events of 2022-11-14. Accession 0000950170-22-025046. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

BlueWalker 3 successfully unfolded its 693-square-foot (64 m2) phased-array antenna to full deployment in orbit, the largest commercial communications array deployed in LEO at the time. Deployment announced by AST Nov 14, 2022.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-10-26, reporting events of 2022-10-26. Accession 0001493152-22-029572. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

BlueWalker 3, AST's large direct-to-cell test satellite, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A. Carries a 693 sq ft (64 m2) phased-array antenna, then the largest commercial array planned for LEO.

source 1 ↗; AST 8-K source 2 ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2022-09-09, reporting events of 2022-09-08. Accession 0001493152-22-025416. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-08-15, reporting events of 2022-08-15. Accession 0000950170-22-017456. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-07-18, reporting events of 2022-07-18. Accession 0001493152-22-019535. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-05-16, reporting events of 2022-05-16. Accession 0000950170-22-010109. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 3.02, filed 2022-05-06, reporting events of 2022-05-06. Accession 0001493152-22-012323. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

FCC experimental authority to test BlueWalker 3 space-to-ground at sites in Texas and Hawaii using 3GPP low-band cellular frequencies plus Q/V-band feeder links. First FCC experimental authority underpinning AST's direct-to-standard-handset demonstrations.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2022-03-31, reporting events of 2022-03-29. Accession 0001493152-22-008496. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2022-03-09, reporting events of 2022-03-03. Accession 0001493152-22-006357. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Agreement to purchase an additional 100,000 sq ft facility in Midland, TX, complementing the existing 85,000 sq ft HQ/assembly facility (~185,000 sq ft combined) at Spaceport Business Park. Intended to provide capacity toward a goal of up to six satellites per month.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2021-11-15, reporting events of 2021-11-15. Accession 0001493152-21-028676. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2021-09-24, reporting events of 2021-09-20. Accession 0001493152-21-023618. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.02, filed 2021-08-16, reporting events of 2021-08-16. Accession 0001493152-21-020196. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 1.01, filed 2021-07-29, reporting events of 2021-07-23. Accession 0001493152-21-018033. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Community researcher Interalia 51 found AST SpaceMobile patents dated back to June 2021 describing using the Micron satellite platform for space-based data centers, cited by Kook as evidence of early planning for the AI edge-compute roadmap. Date approximate, month precision.

from episode

Business combination with AST & Science closed 2021-04-06 after 2021-04-01 stockholder approval. ~$462M expected gross proceeds: ~$227M remaining in NPA trust (after $4.8M deferred underwriting and minimal redemptions) plus $230M concurrent PIPE. Class A stock and warrants began trading on Nasdaq as 'ASTS' / 'ASTSW' on 2021-04-07.

Form 8-K; Form 424B3 (2021); globenewswire (source ↗)

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 2.01, filed 2021-04-12, reporting events of 2021-04-06. Accession 0001493152-21-008574. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

SEC Form 8-K item(s) 3.02, 3.03, filed 2021-04-12, reporting events of 2021-04-06. Accession 0001493152-21-008574. Generic item-code description — see the filing for specifics.

source ↗

Equity Purchase Agreement dated 2020-12-15 between New Providence Acquisition Corp (NPA) and AST & Science LLC. Deal valued the combined company at roughly $1.4B enterprise value and included a $230M PIPE (investors including Rakuten, Vodafone, American Tower, UBS O'Connor). Existing AST holders rolled equity into an Up-C structure.

New Providence Acquisition Corp Form 8-K filed 2020-12-16 source 1 ↗; DEFA14A filed 2020-12-16 source 2 ↗

Commercial agreement dated 2020-02-04 (amended and restated 2020-12-15) for exclusive network capabilities in Japan compatible with Rakuten Mobile's network. Rakuten is also an early equity investor.

Form DEF 14A filed 2025-04-25 (acc. 0001641172-25-006182) source 1 ↗; Amended and Restated Commercial Agreement with Rakuten Mobile, Ex. 10.18 to the 8-K filed 2021-04-12 source 2 ↗

AST's first experimental satellite (BlueWalker 1), a small technology-demonstration cubesat, launched as a rideshare on ISRO's PSLV-C45 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India. Validated core AST direct-to-device technology. Decayed from orbit Nov 29, 2023.

source ↗ (PSLV-C45 EMISAT rideshare manifest)

85,000 sq ft facility at Midland Spaceport Business Park, built with Midland Development Corporation, to design/build/integrate/test LEO satellite platforms; stated annual capacity of 100,000 'Micron' space modules.

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