Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) climbed roughly 1% overnight Sunday following a pair of significant operational developments over the weekend.
The gains came after ASTS stock dropped 10% on Friday, closing at $50.97 and recording a 13% weekly loss for its second consecutive weekly decline.
AST SpaceMobile announced via X that BlueBird satellites 14, 15 and 16 had successfully arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of their next scheduled launch.
The company added that satellite production in Texas remains active through BlueBird 50, signaling an ambitious manufacturing pipeline still moving forward at pace.
AST said it is preparing the new spacecraft to deliver cellular broadband directly to everyday smartphones while also supporting government applications, posting the message “Next stop: orbit” on social media.
No official launch date for BlueBirds 14, 15 and 16 has been announced, leaving investors and analysts waiting on further scheduling details from the company.
The three satellites are part of AST’s Block 2 fleet, each featuring a phased-array antenna measuring up to approximately 2,400 square feet, designed to connect with standard smartphones without special equipment.
AST launched BlueBirds 11, 12 and 13 in August, bringing its total number of satellites in orbit to 13, though the rollout has not been without setbacks along the way.
BlueBird 7 previously entered an orbit too low to sustain operations and was de-orbited in April, a reminder of the technical challenges inherent in building a low-Earth orbit satellite network at scale.
AST is targeting approximately 45 satellites in orbit by early 2027, with the company estimating it needs between 45 and 60 satellites to deliver continuous coverage across its key commercial markets.
Separately, the FCC granted AST a 30-day special temporary authorization, running from October 9 through November 8, to conduct radiolocation tests using the 902-928 MHz band over the contiguous United States and Hawaii.
The authorization requires AST to operate on a non-interference basis and coordinate with nearby primary licensees before any testing activity begins under the cleared window.
The Space Development Agency backed the FCC application, stating the demonstration would support its evaluation of commercial satellite architectures for military sensing and targeting purposes.
On the commercial side, Telus and AST completed their first network integration test, covering voice calls, text messages and broadband data delivered directly to smartphones via AST’s space-based network.
Telus said the service is expected to reach customers on eligible phones within the next year, without requiring any special hardware, with a focus on extending coverage to remote areas of Canada and supporting emergency communications.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for ASTS jumped to “extremely bullish” from “bullish” levels the prior week, accompanied by high message volume as traders digested the weekend news.
One Stocktwits user commented, “$ASTS well, we are still on track to have 14,15,16 in orbit by EOY. No word on 17,18,19 yet but I presume they will be in orbit mid/late Q1. Earnings early November will possibly bring some good nuggets. Hopefully no downgrades on sat deployment guidance or 2027 revenue. Let’s get a bounce off the 52 week low and see how this plays out.”
A more skeptical user posted, “$ASTS Heres the basic math: with this next launch, they’ll be at 16 sats. Need 45-60 for service so at minimum need 29 more. They will have launched 9 total in 2026. If that pace continues, thats 29/9 = 3.2 years till full service. if they dont pick up the pace, the entire company is cooked. I think theyre probably cooked already but nevertheless, the math is the math.”
Despite the overnight recovery, ASTS stock remains down approximately 30% year-to-date, reflecting broader investor uncertainty around the company’s timeline to full commercial service.
