Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster. The BlueWalker 3 satellite folded for launch, by AST SpaceMobile. AST SpaceMobile “30 years after Vodafone sent the world’s first text message, we supported AST SpaceMobile in successfully making the first ever direct-to-smartphone test call using satellite communications,” Vodafone Group Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle said in a statement. “This is just the start. As a lead investor in AST SpaceMobile, we will continue to break technological boundaries by connecting many more millions of people across the planet when the service becomes commercially available.” The test calls successfully connected, exchanging SIM and network information — essential for connecting one phone to another — via the BW3 satellite. It’s a massive step forward for smartphones, and for phoning in general, AT&T Network head Chris Sambar said in a statement. “AT&T’s heritage began with the birth of the telephone 147 years ago and has continued with many other firsts including: trans-continental call, overseas call, call from the moon, and partnering to deliver the only network built with and for America’s first responders ... this important milestone with AST SpaceMobile is a big step and we can’t wait to see what’s next in our space-based journey.” But it’s also a massive potential disaster in the making for ground-based astronomy and dark sky lovers. Already the massive Starlink fleet of satellites, which now number almost 3,600 in orbit, are causing havoc for skywatcher and astronomers. That fleet is planned to rise to about 12,000 in number, with a possible later extension to 42,000. And while Starlink has made some changes to its newer satellites to render them less obtrusive, it’s hard to imagine how bad a satellite 40 times bigger — especially if scaled in a fleet for global availability — would be for ground-based astronomy. The bigger satellites are essential because while Starlink connects to its satellites via a fairly large antenna (perhaps the size of a small suitcase) that aims at specific points in the sky, SpaceMobile needs to achieve that same feat via our relatively tiny handheld smartphones, which have much less powerful cellular radios. The good news: SpaceMobile only has plans to orbit 168 satellites so far. Only a fraction of the world’s population has cellular coverage, the company says, and billions of people have no internet access. AST SpaceMobile says it has agreements with mobile network operators globally that have approximately 2 billion existing subscribers. That list includes Vodafone, Rakuten, AT&T, Bell Canada, Orange, Telefonica, TIM, Saudi Telecom Company, and dozens more. Rakuten is SpaceMobile’s biggest investor, followed by Vodafone. Samsung is also an investor in the company. The company has raised about $725 million to date to fund the build-out. SpaceMobile claims to own over 2,600 current and pending patents.