Watch SpaceX launch 3 giant BlueBird direct-to-cell satellites early on Aug. 5

On Wednesday morning, Aug. 5, SpaceX will launch three BlueBird direct-to-cell satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT) and will last 96 minutes. Coverage of the event will be available live on Space.com starting at 2:42 a.m. EDT (0642 GMT).

AST SpaceMobile, the company behind the BlueBird satellites, aims to expand its constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft to provide internet service directly to unmodified smartphones. Ten BlueBird satellites have been deployed so far, with the most recent launch occurring on June 17. The upcoming launch of BlueBirds 11 to 13 will significantly advance the constellation's completion.

BlueBirds 11 through 13 are next-generation satellites featuring larger antennas that cover 2,400 square feet (223 square m) compared to the previous Block 1 satellites' 693 square feet (64.4 square m). These next-gen BlueBirds are anticipated to deliver double the peak download speeds of the initial Block 1 satellites, which recently achieved a peak download speed of 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones.

Once deployed, the Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth approximately 8.5 minutes after launch, landing in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. This will be the 30th launch and landing for this specific booster, which previously supported the BlueBird 8-10 mission in June. The upper stage will then deploy the three BlueBird satellites into LEO within an 11-minute period, commencing 53.5 minutes after liftoff.