SPACE
Largest commercial satellites in low Earth orbit
October 28, 2024 - Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has launched the first five BlueBird satellites, part of a network of up to 168 arrays designed to beam the internet to consumer cell phones globally.
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Each satellite unfurled the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in low Earth orbit, covering 64 square metres (693 square feet).
“The deployment of our first five BlueBird commercial satellites marks just the beginning of our journey,” Abel Avellan, founder and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said in a statement.
In September 2022, the Texas-based company’s prototype satellite unfurled its giant array, outshining most objects in the skies except for the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and seven of the brightest stars.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the number of large satellites has increased fivefold over the past 12 years.
SpaceX is also building its constellation of satellites, with more than 6,000 Starlink satellites currently in low Earth orbit.
“Artificial satellites, even those invisible to the naked eye, can obstruct astronomical observations,” Robert McMillan, an astronomy professor and founder of the Spacewatch Project at the University of Arizona, wrote to the FCC.