AST Planning Q1 2024 Launch of Start of SCS Constellation

AST SpaceMobile is targeting Q1 2024 for launch of five of its Block 1 BlueBird satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, it said in a call with analysts Monday as the company announced its Q1 2023 financial results. CEO Abel Avellan said each Block 1 satellite will have 10 times the direct-to-handset capacity of the company's BlueWalker 3 demonstration satellite, and its planned 25 Block 2 satellites will have 10 times the capacity of Block 1. The company said it's talking with a variety of launch operators about Block 2 launches. Avellan said AST has rough preliminary agreements and agreements of understanding with wireless carriers around the globe on use of AST service for supplemental coverage from space.