Largest commercial satellites in low Earth orbit

Texas-based AST SpaceMobile has launched the first five BlueBird satellites, part of a network of up to 168 arrays designed to beam the internet to consumer cell phones globally

Sep 10, 2022: Prototype satellite launched 
Mass: 1,500kg Orbit: 503-519km 
Array: 64 sq metres Orbits: 15 per day

Array: Beams 4G and 5G signals directly to standard smartphones at broadband speeds

Brightness: Outshines most objects except Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and seven brightest stars – 900 times brighter than limit International Astronomical Union recommends
                                                                                                                 
Roll and tilt: Manoeuvres can orient craft so it reflects light away from ground-based observatories
   
Sources: AST SpaceMobile, ISPreview, Nature
Picture: NASA/Apollo 17 
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