SpaceX has launched the first 5 giant BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile's smartphone networks. These satellites connect directly to smartphones to provide them with space-based internet service without the need for any additional receivers.

The spacecraft carrying the five satellites was launched today, September 12, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket booster successfully returned and made a vertical landing after about 7.5 minutes, and the spacecraft deployed the BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit within 14 minutes, about 54 minutes after launch.

Each BlueBird satellite has a communication antenna covering 64 square meters, and the company aims to deploy about 170 satellites, some of which will be much larger to cover much larger areas. SpaceMobile has already started producing 17 "Blue Block Bird" satellites, which cover an area of 223 square meters.

It is worth noting that SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile are competitors in the satellite internet field, as SpaceX is building the largest satellite internet network called Starlink, which currently contains about 7,000 satellites, more than 100 of which are capable of broadcasting services directly to smartphones.