A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral ahead of the launch of the USSF-87 national security mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance
WASHINGTON — AST SpaceMobile may launch some of its direct-to-device satellites on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket to expand the launch options for its constellation.
In a May 11 earnings call, Abel Avellan, chairman and chief executive of AST SpaceMobile, mentioned Vulcan alongside other rockets the company is planning to use to launch its satellites.
“The way that we stack the satellites is like tuna cans where you put three of them, one on top of another, on the Falcon 9, up to eight of them on the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket or up to five of them on Vulcan,” he said in response to a question on satellite manufacturing.
While AST SpaceMobile has contracts with both Blue Origin and SpaceX, neither it nor ULA has announced a launch contract involving the companies. Asked about this later in the call, company executives declined to confirm whether it has a launch contract with ULA.
