Adds New Manufacturing Sites in Texas and Florida to Scale Next-Gen BlueBird Satellites
AST SpaceMobile expanded its U.S. manufacturing footprint with new facilities in Midland, Texas and Homestead, Florida as the company ramps production of its next-generation BlueBird satellites. The company now operates five sites in Texas and employs more than 1,800 people, most based at its West Texas headquarters. The expansion deepens AST SpaceMobile’s vertical integration strategy, with 95% of major manufacturing processes kept under U.S. control.
The Midland site supports end-to-end spacecraft production—from raw materials to finished BlueBird satellites—drawing on 3,800 U.S. patents and patent-pending claims. Florida adds capacity in another pro-manufacturing state and complements existing locations in Texas and Maryland. The company’s new BlueBird generation introduces a 2,400-square-foot (≈223 m²) phased-array antenna, a custom power system, and the AST5000 ASIC, which increases bandwidth capacity tenfold over prior satellites and enables peak speeds up to 120 Mbps.
AST SpaceMobile continues to work with U.S. partners including AT&T, Verizon, American Tower, and Google to deploy a global, space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect unmodified smartphones. The expanded U.S. manufacturing base positions the company to accelerate production and support upcoming commercial deployments.
• New U.S. sites: Midland, Texas and Homestead, Florida
• Five total facilities in Texas; additional sites in Maryland and Florida
• 95% vertically integrated production
• Next-gen BlueBird: 2,400-sq-ft (≈223 m²) phased-array antenna
• AST5000 ASIC: 10× bandwidth boost
• Peak user speeds: up to 120 Mbps
• Partners: AT&T, Verizon, American Tower, Google
“Our roots are firmly in Texas, and always will be,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “As we accelerate production of our next-generation BlueBird satellites, the expansion allows us to increase capacity, strengthen our supply chain, and bring even more high-technology manufacturing work back to the United States.”
🌐 Analysis:
AST SpaceMobile’s manufacturing expansion reflects the company’s move from experimentation toward large-scale satellite production as it targets commercial service. Increasing U.S. verticalization also aligns with federal priorities around secure supply chains and domestic space-industry growth. The advanced BlueBird architecture—large phased-arrays combined with a custom ASIC—remains a differentiator in the direct-to-device segment, where rivals such as SpaceX, Lynk Global, and Apple’s satellite-assisted emergency services are pursuing alternative technical architectures.
