AST deploys all three Block 2 satellites on schedule
What happened
AST SpaceMobile's Block 2 BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 (booster B1077) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, lifting off at 07:49 UTC (03:49 EDT) — inside the primary window (03:42 EDT target), backup window not needed. All three ~2,400 sq ft phased-array satellites (AST's own claim: largest commercial phased arrays in LEO) deployed successfully several minutes apart beginning ~54 minutes after liftoff; nearly double Block 1's peak download speed (Block 1 previously hit 98.9 Mbps). Full deployment/checkout is expected to take a couple of weeks before the satellites join the active constellation. Booster B1077 landed successfully on droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" (162nd landing on that vessel, its own 30th+ flight). AST's manufacturing line has progressed to unit 42, with BlueBirds 14-16 already in prep for the next launch. ASTS shares traded up same-day.
Read-across for SES
Confirms the "Block 2 credible" execution thesis priors.md already carries (BlueBirds 8/9/10 operational; base rate: "2x slip prior RETIRED — treat announced dates as credible until slip"). Priors.md flagged a negative outcome here as the dossier's live execution falsifier ahead of this launch; a clean success instead keeps the AST/Lynk D2D competitive threat (Rakuten JV, EU JV "Satellite Connect Europe," 21/27-state MOU interest) on-schedule against SES's own sovereign-connectivity positioning — not an SES-favorable outcome, but a resolved uncertainty.
As the brief filed it
[AGE: 2h] AST SpaceMobile launched and deployed all 3 Block 2 BlueBird satellites (BB-11/12/13) on schedule via Falcon 9 — largest commercial LEO phased arrays, ~2x Block-1 peak speed, confirming on-schedule Block 2 execution.