No network? When an AST SpaceMobile satellite passes through the area, your smartphone may have the option to connect to it. It is in any case the bet of the company, which is going to send a first satellite of very large scale. But it will be even more visible in the night sky…
Still ? Yes again.
Should we think big?
Ten meters in diameter, 64 square meters… The BlueWalker 3 demonstrator satellite is not miniature. On the contrary, this unit which was brought from its production site in Texas to Florida in preparation for takeoff in September, weighs approximately 1.5 tons.
BlueWalker 3 will take off under the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, if all goes well in a few days, with a batch of Starlink satellites for a shared flight to low orbit… Before raising its altitude to 400 km approximately, and to deploy its gigantic dual-use antenna.
Indeed, on one side it houses the solar cells which collect the energy necessary for its operation, and on the other side the “flat” antennas with phase control which are its raison d’être. A very special communication and connectivity satellite, because it is intended to directly connect existing smartphones to relay antennas.
Transit from space
On paper, AST SpaceMobile’s plan is particularly simple: take advantage of an antenna large enough and sensitive enough to be able to pick up even the weak signals sent by existing smartphones, and relay them to the ground relays, which also exist. With an enticing promise for anyone looking for connectivity… No more dead zones, no more blocked networks for lack of an operator not present, no more zoning problems, since if necessary, it will be possible to go via satellite, all without big dedicated antenna.
It still has to be proven that it works well, and that is why after 800 tests on the ground, the company sends its first test satellite into orbit. It has already attracted funding from Vodafone and Rakuten, for the most visible.
A brilliant idea…
It’s not just mobile operators who will see the results. Indeed, AST SpaceMobile has already attracted the attention of both amateur and professional astronomers with the impressive surface of its antenna.
Given its positioning, the latter is almost guaranteed to generate significant light pollution in the night sky. A subject that the various communities such as nations have failed to regulate since the start of the launches of super-constellations such as Starlink.
Eventually, AST SpaceMobile hopes to send up to 243 satellites and their large antennas into low orbit.
Source : Sky and Telescope
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