Today, the FCC granted AST SpaceMobile an experimental license to essentially test FM1, a giant square-shaped satellite that the company has been aiming to launch this month. Although the experimental license prohibits AST from “conducting any commercial operations” through the satellite, the FCC's approval brings the company a step closer to building its satellite-to-phone internet system – avoiding what could have been a prolonged delay. The second-generation BlueBird satellite, which spans around 200 square meters — or about three times the size of the company’s first-generation BlueBirds, FM1 weighs in at nearly 13,000 pounds and features a "phased array antenna" at about 199 square meters, letting it operate as a cell tower in space. To fly up the satellites, AST has tapped both SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. Meanwhile, the FM1 is slated to launch through India’s national space agency. The FM1’s increased size and capability promises to help the Texas-based AST SpaceMobi...