Aerospace News 26 January 2026 - 7 February 2026

AST SpaceMobile stock slides as direct-to-cell race gets louder ahead of BlueBird 7 launch
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AST SpaceMobile stock slides as direct-to-cell race gets louder ahead of BlueBird 7 launch

AST SpaceMobile shares fell 4.3% to $97.75 Tuesday afternoon, underperforming a mostly flat tech sector. The decline followed NTT Docomo’s announcement of an early fiscal 2026 launch for its own satellite-to-phone service in Japan. Traders are focused on AST’s planned BlueBird 7 satellite launch window in late February. Iridium and Globalstar shares were steadier.
February 10, 2026
SpaceX GPS III-9 launch set for late Monday after Space Force swaps out ULA’s Vulcan
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SpaceX GPS III-9 launch set for late Monday after Space Force swaps out ULA’s Vulcan

SpaceX plans to launch the U.S. Space Force’s GPS III-9 satellite late Monday from Cape Canaveral after the military reassigned the mission from ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Liftoff is set for 11:42 p.m. EST, with weather and booster recovery conditions still uncertain. The Falcon 9 booster will attempt a droneship landing in the Atlantic. Lockheed Martin built the satellite, the ninth in the GPS III series.
January 26, 2026