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Friday's Featured Story AST SpaceMobile Gears Up for Its BlueBird 6 Launch Next WeekWritten by Jordan Chussler. Published 12/11/2025. 
Key Points - AST SpaceMobile is slated to launch its next BlueBird 6 satellite next week.
- BlueBird 6 is 3.5 times as large as its predecessors and is expected to support 10 times their data capacity.
- Despite gaining more than 265% this year, ASTS is still favorable among Wall Street’s institutional investors and has a $1 billion revenue pipeline awaiting its services.
On Monday, Dec. 15, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is scheduled to launch its next-generation satellite, BlueBird 6. The satellite is expected to bolster the company's space-based cellular broadband network and to test the Midland, Texas-based firm's ability to scale operations. The milestone is a key step toward the communication services sector newcomer's ambition to provide direct-to-smartphone, 24/7 high-speed cellular service. It's no surprise that investors and analysts are watching the launch closely for clues about AST SpaceMobile's technology progress and the stock's potential trajectory into 2026. BlueBird 6's Launch Serves as a Credibility Test for AST SpaceMobile A growing number of investors are questioning how much of the market is now concentrated in just a handful of mega-cap stocks.
In a recent interview, a veteran investor discusses why this concentration matters, how he's structured his own portfolio to reduce reliance on Big Tech, and the framework he believes can deliver competitive returns with lower volatility across market cycles. Watch the full interview here BlueBird 6 will feature the largest commercial phased-array antenna of any satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) at 2,400 square feet. For context, AST SpaceMobile's BlueWalker 3 (the company's prototype test satellite launched on Sept. 10, 2022) and BlueBirds 1 through 5 (launched on Sept. 12, 2024) were equipped with arrays measuring 693 square feet. BlueBird 6 is 3.5 times the size of its predecessors and is expected to support 10 times their data capacity when it launches from India's Satish Dhawan Space Center next week. While the launch may appear routine to some observers, it represents a significant step for the company. AST SpaceMobile is accelerating production and operations. By the end of 2026, the space telecommunications firm plans to have between 45 and 60 BlueBird satellites in LEO servicing the United States, Europe, and Japan. Of those satellites, about 40 are expected to be online in early 2026, highlighting how rapidly the company is scaling. Looking further out, AST SpaceMobile intends to develop a larger, but fewer, satellite fleet—using as many as 90 satellites that will be larger than those deployed by competitors like Starlink. That makes Monday's scheduled launch even more important if AST SpaceMobile wants to accelerate its deployment timeline. To meet those targets, the company relies on a workforce of more than 1,800 personnel, roughly 1,800 patents or patent-pending claims, and about half a million square feet of manufacturing and operations facilities around the globe. According to a recent press release, the company is "95% vertically integrated, with all major manufacturing processes kept under U.S. control." By the end of 2025, the company says it will have the capacity to manufacture six launch-ready BlueBirds per month. ASTS's $1 Billion Revenue Pipeline Perhaps more impressive than its galactic ambitions is the revenue pipeline that will be in place once AST SpaceMobile's services go live. The company has said it may only provide intermittent nationwide coverage in early 2026, with continuous service planned later in the year as it launches additional next-gen BlueBird satellites. That plan has helped AST SpaceMobile secure over $1 billion in aggregate contracted revenue from commercial partners and the U.S. federal government, according to the company's Q3 business update. Those government agreements include a $43 million contract with the U.S. Space Development Agency for network services. The company also has agreements with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense for national security space demonstration projects through the DoD's Hypersonic and Advanced Space-based Testbed (HALO) program. To date, AST SpaceMobile has commercial agreements with Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T), and Vodafone Group (NASDAQ: VOD), as well as pacts with Japanese tech conglomerate Rakuten (OTCMKTS: RKUNY), real estate investment trust American Tower (NYSE: AMT), and BCE (NYSE: BCE), formerly Bell Canada Enterprises. Where Wall Street Stands on ASTS Despite gaining more than 265% this year, AST SpaceMobile remains a favorite among institutional investors on Wall Street. Much of that enthusiasm stems from the company's strategic partnerships and the expectation of meaningful revenue as its network comes online. That potential $1 billion revenue influx has Wall Street bullish on ASTS. While the current short interest of 14.44% may concern some investors, that figure is down 5.20% from the last reporting period. Additionally, that total is considerably lower than the $3.55 billion worth of shares that were short on Oct. 15—a record since AST SpaceMobile went public. Institutional ownership remains robust at nearly 61%. Over the past 12 months, institutional buyers (296) have outnumbered sellers (105), with inflows of about $1.9 billion easily surpassing outflows of just over $312 million. Vanguard is particularly bullish on ASTS. As the largest institutional holder, the firm owns more than 19.9 million shares, valued at nearly $977.7 million. The asset manager increased its position 13.4% last quarter, reflecting a trend among other top institutional holders. During the same quarter, Northern Trust, Gotham Asset Management, and VackEck Associated increased their positions by 18.1%, 37.8%, and 125.1%, respectively.
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