AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) is having a moment. Shares rocketed higher after the company dropped fresh details about its next-generation BlueBird satellites, which promise to beam high-speed cellular broadband directly to regular smartphones anywhere on Earth.

Here's what has investors excited: these new satellites pack nearly 2,400 square feet of phased array antennas. That's genuinely massive for space hardware. AST SpaceMobile says this makes it the largest commercial phased-array system ever launched into low Earth orbit, dwarfing the company's first-generation BlueBirds that featured 693 square feet of antenna space.

The company is wasting no time putting this tech into action. AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch its first next-generation satellite, BlueBird 6, on Tuesday at 10:24 p.m. EST. The mission will lift off from India's Satish Dhawan Space Center aboard an LVM3 rocket.

To build anticipation, the company plans to stream a live webcast starting about 30 minutes before launch. The broadcast will include new videos, remarks from President Scott Wisniewski, and interviews with strategic partners American Tower and Rakuten.

Meanwhile, Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB) has been busy advancing its own space operations. The company moved forward with its upcoming Electron mission for the U.S. Space Force's STP-S30 program, dubbed "Don't Be Such A Square," launching from Wallops Island, Virginia. Rocket Lab also completed its first dedicated launch for Japan's space agency, JAXA, successfully deploying the RAISE-4 satellite carrying eight technology demonstrations.

ASTS Price Action: AST SpaceMobile shares were up 13.82% at $86.31 at the time of publication on Monday.