A company building what is understood to be the only space-based mobile phone network has signed a multi-launch agreement with Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX.
Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, which has its 海角视频 base at the new Space Park Leicester, has struck a deal with the Tesla co-founder鈥檚 rocket business for a planned summer launch of its BlueWalker 3 test satellite, and for future launches of its BlueBird satellites.
AST SpaceMobile wants to put 170 satellites into low orbit to create a space-based cellular broadband network for the 5 billion phone mobile users who don鈥檛 have permanent terrestrial coverage.
Last June 海角视频 managing director Stephen Gibson told BusinessLive its satellites could provide the main mobile signal for areas of the developing world with limited or no wireless and mobile infrastructure, and fill in gaps in the developed world where existing mobile signals drop out.
Back then Mr Gibson said the group was talking to the new breed of commercial space transport companies about finding the best deal to get its hardware off the ground.
The business has now revealed it hopes to launch the BlueWalker 3 satellite 鈥 which can communicate directly with mobile phones using standard frequencies 鈥 on a Falcon 9 SpaceX vehicle from Cape Canaveral this summer.
AST SpaceMobile founder, chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said: 鈥淭his agreement secures the availability for a reliable launch of our first production satellites out of the US.
鈥淥ur summer launch of BlueWalker 3 will complete the development phase for our company.
鈥淲e have also been industrializing our technology and preparing for the launch of the BlueBird satellites, with this agreement as a key step.鈥
The BlueBird satellites are designed to provide broadband internet directly to cell phones, without any additional hardware or software on the phone.
At full capacity, AST SpaceMobile will be able to assemble up to six BlueBird satellites a month at its Texas manufacturing facilities.
It is working in partnership with global wireless infrastructure companies including Rakuten Mobile, Vodafone and American Tower.
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