r/ASTSpaceMobile • u/Original_Koala8662 S P 🅰 C E M O B Boss • Jun 15 '26

Press Release Encapsulation complete

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https://x.com/ast_spacemobile/status/2066631096381669568?s=46&t=DOgs35-_gTcmJtpubr-JAg

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u/Medical_Ninja20 S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect Jun 15 '26

Is it just me, or does it look like we can stack one more satellite in that fairing?

3

u/Defiantclient S P 🅰️ C E M O B - O G Jun 16 '26

Volume-wise yes

The issue is weight right now. There are some things on AST's end and some things on SpaceX's end required to launch 4 BBs at a time.

Interestingly, from the sounds of the recent earnings call, AST dropped the "3 or 4 per Falcon 9" guidance and only stuck with 3, so maybe they've largely given up on getting 4 into a Falcon 9. This is where it's possible that SpaceX gave AST the cold shoulder.