On 11 September, the AST SpaceMobile company launched BlueWalker 3, a prototype for a fleet of 100 satellites in low-Earth orbit that the company hopes will supply 5G coverage to ordinary mobile phones in far flung locations around the world.
At first, the satellite appeared unremarkable, only faintly visible to the human eye at between magnitude 4 and 8. That changed dramatically on 10 November when the spacecraft suddenly brightened and began to outshine most stars.
This increase was the result of spacecraft unfurling its flat panel antennas into an array the size of squash court (about 64 square meters). That makes BlueWalker 3 one of the largest objects ever placed in low Earth orbit. Sunlight reflected from this array also makes it one of the brightest.
Since the launch, astronomers monitored the spacecraft’s brightness and have now published their findings. “[BlueWalker 3] increased in brightness by 4 magnitudes or ...
