AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

What happened with BlueBird 7, what gives comfort it won't repeat and that New Glenn can scale, and where does ULA integration stand for this year vs 2027+?

Management said it was open about the BlueBird 7 loss the day it happened, characterized it as a loss with 33 satellites in advanced production behind it, and said Blue Origin is working through an upper-stage-anomaly investigation that is not uncommon early in programs. They cited Blue Origin's booster landing and two boosters ready as support for cadence, and reiterated a launch-vehicle-agnostic strategy with contracts across SpaceX, Blue Origin and others.

“So it was a loss, we're on to the next.”

asked by Christopher Schoell · answered by Scott Wisniewski

Is there a timeline on the FAA investigation, and how many MNOs / covered subs would be addressable from day one once ~45 satellites are up in Q4?

Management said no publicly disclosed timeline exists for the Blue Origin/FAA investigation but that such investigations are commonplace, and it is focused on the next Falcon 9 launch of BlueBirds 8, 9 and 10. On coverage, it declined a specific MNO count, pointing to the disclosed pipeline of countries covering ~2.9 billion population and prioritized markets (US, Canada, UK, Japan, Saudi).

“just on the countries listed in our deck, you see a population coverage of about 2.9 billion”

asked by Scott Searle · answered by Andrew Johnson

Do you have contracted launch capacity to average roughly one launch per month June-December to reach 45, how diversified is the mix, and do you ramp stacking gradually or go straight to 8?

Management confirmed contracted launch capacity to hit the ~45 target via a handful of New Glenn and a handful of SpaceX/equivalent launches, noting Blue Origin's anomaly but expressing optimism on its return given two ready boosters. On stacking, they expect 4 satellites on the next New Glenn, are mature at 3-stack, will move to 4-stack shortly, and scale to 6/7/8 to reach constellation size.

“we expect on the next New Glenn, we'll launch 4 satellites”

asked by Bryan Kraft · answered by Scott Wisniewski

What is the impact of Amazon's acquisition of Globalstar and potential partnership, and what average downlink for Block 2 satellites is expected in later-year trials?

Management downplayed competitive impact, framing Globalstar-type capability as SOS/emergency on a small fraction of the spectrum needed for broadband and seeing no dramatic landscape change for at least 7 years given AST's spectrum depth (partner IMT plus its own L/S-band, up to 100 MHz with some partners). On downlink, it said peak vs average is application-dependent but network capacity for BB6/8/9/10 is roughly double the ~99 Mbps disclosed that morning, closer to ~200 Mbps peak.

“we don't see any real change of the landscape at least for the next 7 years”

asked by Louie Dipalma · answered by Abel Avellan

Is it the ASIC or AI spectrum management that pushes speeds toward 200 Mbps by year-end, and do the non-communications defense capabilities require mid-band military radar / L- and S-band?

Management said big data rates are not dependent on FPGA vs ASIC — the ASIC raises manageable bandwidth from ~1 GHz to 10 GHz per satellite (10x) and governs simultaneous connections, while AI spectrum management intelligently distributes that pipe. It confirmed the defense non-communications capability uses the same hardware as commercial satellites and, importantly, does not require mid-band spectrum — it can be done with already-deployed low-band spectrum.

“that does not require mid-band spectrum. That's something we can do with low-band spectrum, which we've deployed today”

asked by Michael Crawford · answered by Scott Wisniewski

What hurdles/authorizations are required to stack up to 8 satellites, and how will AI edge computing improve next-generation satellite efficiency/performance?

Management explained stacking capacity (8 on New Glenn, 5 on Vulcan, 3 on Falcon) using self-contained full-composite structures built under AST IP, with 1,000+ people dedicated and cadence nearing 6/month. On AI, it clarified AST is not building hyperscaler systems in space but is adding edge-compute and AI spectrum-management capability to production batches by year-end that dynamically predicts and allocates power/spectrum across a satellite's ~200 sq km field of view, multiplying perceived spectrum efficiency.

“we are not in the play of hyperscaler systems in space”

asked by Michael Funk · answered by Abel Avellan

Once 45 satellites are launched, what commissioning period until service activation with MNOs, and could Rocket Lab's Neutron be a launch partner in 2027?

Management said the target commissioning-to-activation window is 45 days (enabling 4G/5G connectivity through MNOs), expected to shorten toward 2 weeks over time though not promised for early batches. On Neutron, it declined to comment on specific other launch providers but reiterated openness to additional launch partners, noting satellites are designed to fit standard 5-meter and larger fairings.

“the target is 45 days... All the way down to 2 weeks, we don't want to promise that in the early batches of satellites”

asked by Gregory Pendy · answered by Abel Avellan

Do defense non-communications missions require a large satellite redesign (optical cross-links, onboard processing, pointing) and is that customer-funded, and which specific programs can AST target under a larger defense budget?

Management said the required defense capabilities are already built into what is being produced on the line — incorporated many years back — with additional (undisclosed) additions per request. On programs, it described AST as present across the full spectrum of government usage from FirstNet to classified to Golden Dome, for both communications and non-communications, expecting very significant revenue growth.

“all the capabilities that they require are already built in, in what we are producing on the line”

asked by Christopher Quilty · answered by Abel Avellan