AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) shares are in focus Thursday as the company rides a double tailwind — the SpaceX IPO set to begin trading Friday lifting the entire space sector, and a confirmed satellite launch date next week adding fresh company-specific momentum.
The SpaceX IPO Halo
With SpaceX pricing its historic $75 billion IPO at $135 per share tonight and set to begin trading on Nasdaq tomorrow under SPCX, capital has been flooding into space sector names all week. ASTS — which is building what it calls the first and only space-based cellular broadband network that connects directly to everyday smartphones — has been one of the most prominent beneficiaries, surging roughly 437% over the past year. The central question heading into tomorrow is whether the SpaceX debut lifts space proxies further or becomes a “sell the news” moment for the sector.
The Launch
On June 9, AST SpaceMobile announced that BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 are scheduled to launch Wednesday, June 17, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:39 a.m. EDT. The three next-generation satellites are expected to deliver nearly double the peak data speeds of the company’s Block 1 BlueBirds, which recently achieved 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones. The announcement sent shares up roughly 5% on the day it dropped.
The June 17 launch is part of a broader 2026 deployment plan targeting approximately 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by year-end, with BlueBirds 11 through 33 already in advanced stages of production and assembly.
The Overhang
Not everything is clean. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket suffered a catastrophic explosion during a static fire test on May 29, sending AST SpaceMobile down 18.5% in a single session — the company had been relying on Blue Origin as one of its key launch providers. Blue Origin has since said it expects to resume launches by year-end.
AST SpaceMobile Shares Climb
ASTS Price Action: At the time of publication, AST SpaceMobile shares are trading 2.43% higher at $89.44, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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