A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket carrying the AST SpaceMobile Bluebird 7 satellite lifts off from Pad 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 19, 2026.
Paul Hennessy | Anadolu | Getty Images
Due to the failure of the satellite launch, AST Space Mobile It falls on Monday.
Shares fell more than 5% after a rocket designed by Jeff Bezos’ space technology company Blue Origin placed a satellite into a lower orbit than planned on Sunday.
AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite was to be the company’s eighth satellite to be launched into low Earth orbit, the company said in a press release on Sunday. It was launched on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
In a post to X, Blue Origin acknowledged that the satellite was placed in the wrong orbit, but added only that it was assessing the situation and would provide further updates. The company has not released a statement since the satellite was officially deemed lost.
AST said in a release that the cost of the satellite loss will be covered by insurance. It still expects to launch a satellite on average once every one to two months in 2026, and said Bluebird satellites 8, 9 and 10 should be ready for shipment within 30 days.
ASTS year-to-date chart.
William Blair analyst Louis DiPalma believes AST’s goal of having 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year will be difficult to meet now. However, he did not consider Sunday’s events to be a complete loss for the company.
“AST has gained experience integrating satellites with New Glenn and working with the Blue Origin team,” DiPalma wrote in a memo Monday. “This experience will be essential for future missions. The silver lining is that only one satellite was on board, whereas future New Glenn launches could carry as many as eight of AST’s BlueBirds.”
Clear Street analyst Greg Pendy remains bullish on the stock, reiterating his buy rating following the news, but lowering his price target from $137 to $115. That’s still a 34% increase from Friday’s close, but far less than the 60% rise he had previously predicted.
UBS analyst Christopher Scholl said in a note that while the financial impact on AST will be limited, he added that AST and its share price performance are now linked to Bezos’ Blue Origin.
“We believe the success of Blue Origin’s New Glenn fleet is key to achieving year-end implementation targets/management’s 2027 revenue targets, and we expect uncertainty to initially weigh on investor sentiment until there is more clarity,” Scholl wrote.
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