ASTS Stock Rises Premarket: AST SpaceMobile Expands Patent Shield As Starlink Battle Moves To Smartphones

• The patent protects thermal-management tech inside AST’s giant satellite antenna arrays.
• Heat pipes and specialized surfaces shield electronics from extreme orbital temperature swings.
• Block 2 BlueBird arrays span 2,400 square feet, about 3.5 times BlueWalker 3’s size.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 0.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company secured a U.S. patent protecting thermal-management tech for its giant satellite arrays, boosting its intellectual property as Starlink expands further into mobile connectivity.

ASTS stock fell 2% on Tuesday, ending the session at $58.77. 

AST Wins Patent For Satellite Heat Management

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent to AST SpaceMobile’s unit, AST & Science, on Tuesday. The inventors include CEO Abel Avellan and CTO Huiwen Yao.

The patent covers a tiled antenna structure with solar cells on one side, radio-frequency equipment on the other, and electronic components housed within a honeycomb middle layer.

Heat pipes distribute heat locally across each tile, while specialized internal surfaces protect chips, batteries and other components from extreme temperature swings. AST  said that the solar-facing surface moved from minus 70 degrees Celsius in darkness to 80 degrees Celsius in sunlight during a 90-minute orbit. The system can prevent excessive heat and repeated thermal stress from damaging electronics inside the satellite’s large antenna array.

AST Extends Early IP To Larger BlueBird Arrays

The patent is a continuation of filings dating to 2019 and 2020, rather than an entirely new tech. This allows AST to retain its early priority date while extending protection around technology relevant to its larger Block 2 satellites.

AST’s BlueWalker 3 demonstrator deployed a 693-square-foot array in 2022. Newer Block 2 BlueBirds carry arrays of 2,400 square feet, which is about 3.5 times larger, creating greater power and thermal-management demands. The patent is part of AST’s portfolio of more than 3,900 patents and patent-pending claims.

AST And Starlink Race Toward Mobile Connectivity 

The patent update comes as SpaceX’s Starlink expands beyond emergency connectivity toward a broader mobile offering. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said last month that the company “definitely intend to build out terrestrial” infrastructure and wants Starlink to become a “true mobile service.” She expects it to win “quite a few” customers from AT&T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ) and T-Mobile US (TMUS).

Starlink combines thousands of satellites with acquired wireless spectrum and potential handset modifications. AST instead uses fewer satellites carrying much larger cellular arrays to connect with standard, unmodified smartphones through carrier partners. Its partners include AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone Group (VOD), Rakuten and Bell Canada. AST has shown speeds nearing 200 megabits per second to standard smartphones, while its newer BlueBird arrays are intended to support broader commercial coverage.

The wider competition is now shifting toward spectrum, carriers and deployment scale. SpaceX has spent about $19.6 billion acquiring 65 megahertz of EchoStar spectrum, while both SpaceX and AST have expressed interest in Grain Management’s 800-megahertz airwaves.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About ASTS?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS has been ‘bearish’ over the past week amid a 27% rise in 24-hour message volumes.

One user said, “$ASTS The price will continue to slide down regardless the macro BS or sector BS until management will provide some meaningful update about BB 11 status and the next batch shipment date”

Another user said, “$ASTS the silence is deafening!!! I feel something big is happening behind the scenes! Big could = bad and it could = good. But this silences regarding the badly stalled launches cadence and the BB11 mystery is screaming!!”

ASTS stock has risen 43% over the past year. 

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