Comments on: AST SpaceMobile reaffirms its goal to launch 45 Bluebird satellites by the end of ’26 https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/ast-spacemobile-reaffirms-its-goal-to-launch-45-bluebird-satellites-by-the-end-of-26/ Wed, 13 May 2026 18:21:31 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/ast-spacemobile-reaffirms-its-goal-to-launch-45-bluebird-satellites-by-the-end-of-26/#comment-1631768 Wed, 13 May 2026 18:21:31 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=123667#comment-1631768 Launching competitors’ payloads – satellites as well as Cygnus missions for Northrop Grumman – is the 3rd largest piece of SpaceX’s launch business since the beginning of 2025. There were nine such missions last year and three more thus far this year.

2nd place goes to US government launches, both civilian and military. There were 20 of those last year and six thus far this year.

Last year also saw 122 Starlink launches. There won’t be as many of those this year, it seems, while government launches may stay at roughly the same level as last year or perhaps rise a bit. The longer Vulcan and New Glenn stay grounded, the higher that rise will be.

Launches for competitors might actually eclipse those for the US government for 2026 as a whole. There are 10 launches on-manifest for Amazon, some unknown, but potentially equal, number for AST SpaceMobile and even the possibility of a few for Telesat Lightspeed if it can avoid collapse as a going concern. There is even at least one Orbcomm mission coming up which counts as an 11th new mission for Amazon since the acquisition of the former by the latter.

There seems a decent probability that the likely 2026 level of SpaceX missions carrying competitors’ payloads will be maintained into 2027 as well.

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