AST SpaceMobile is taking another step toward its goal of providing a space-based mobile communications network — one that would turn any standard smartphone into a satellite phone, no additional hardware required. After announcing that its network of five commercial satellites is scheduled to launch into low-Earth orbit on September 12, the launch took place successfully this morning. You can watch the launch below; the 10-second countdown starts at 1:16:09 in the video.
The company’s five BlueBird satellites are equipped with communications arrays that aim to provide standard off-the-shelf smartphones with the same voice, data and video speeds
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