Scheduled for (UTC) 2024-09-12, 08:52
Scheduled for (local) 2024-09-12, 04:52 (EDT)
Launch site SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
Booster B1078-13
Landing LZ-1
Payload BlueBird Block 1 #1-5
Customer AST SpaceMobile
Mission success criteria Successful delivery of payload to LEO

Webcasts

Stream Link
Space Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBL5U_wwYqw
Spaceflight Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeq5HVrfpFQ
NASASpaceflight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oqZtThBoG4
The Launch Pad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqLMETRJ7Ho
SpaceX https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1834149741481046421
The Space Devs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZvfKKyE8jw

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 19th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (if successful)

☑️ 43rd launch from SLC-40 this year

☑️ 6 days, 17:19:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 41 day turnaround for B1078

☑️ 44th landing on LZ-1

☑️ 348th Falcon Family Booster landing, 359th Falcon recovery attempt

☑️ 88th Falcon 9 mission this year, 374th Falcon 9 mission overall

☑️ 89th SpaceX mission of 2024, 389th mission overall (excluding Starship flights)

☑️ 91th SpaceX launch this year, 402nd SpaceX launch overall (including Starship flights)

Mission info

This mission will launch the first 5 commercial satellites in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation. In orbit, they will provide connectivity for smartphones outside cellular coverage in partnership with mobile network operators (MNOs).

The satellites use AST & Science’s patented technologies for connecting to cellphones in a space environment for their SpaceMobile constellation. Each satellite will deploy a 10 m diameter phased array antenna with an area of 64 meters squared consisting of numerous identical sub-antenna modules to connect directly to standard mobile phones.