AST SpaceMobile puts $1.3B behind Blacklift orbital rocket

By Amara Osei

MIDLAND, Texas — Direct-to-device satellite operator AST SpaceMobile has committed $1.3 billion to propulsion vendor Firefly Aerospace to develop Blacklift, its own reusable heavy-lift orbital rocket. The Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 agreement covers engine supply, engineering support and intellectual-property rights for later production, with deployment plans for five next-generation BlueBird cellular broadband satellites into low Earth orbit.

AST SpaceMobile says Blacklift will give it dedicated manifest priority instead of leaving BlueBird deployment dependent on scarce third-party launch slots. Firefly leadership has described launch-vehicle shortages as systemic across the aerospace sector.

AST has encountered bottlenecks across multiple commercial launch providers and pivoted to SpaceX for BlueBird launches to preserve deployment momentum after orbital delays. Building its own vehicle moves that bottleneck inside the company, where engineering teams can manage it.

Building Blacklift also moves integration work inside AST SpaceMobile. The company must coordinate engine manufacturing, booster and upper-stage development, ground testing and spaceport selection rather than procure a finished launch vehicle. That is more work, not less. It replaces an external queue with an internal construction schedule, which may be more controllable but is hardly less demanding.

The contract fixes the division of labor: Firefly supplies propulsion, while AST SpaceMobile builds the launcher. Its technical uncertainty lies in a new booster, upper stage, factory and unchosen spaceport.

What can Blacklift carry?

Blacklift’s stated payload is up to 20 metric tons to low Earth orbit, enough for five full-scale BlueBird satellites on one mission. That figure changes the launch arithmetic: five full-scale BlueBird satellites share one mission, provided the vehicle performs as designed.

Firefly’s Miranda engines power the reusable first-stage booster; Firefly initially developed and hot-fire tested them for medium-to-heavy launch configurations. The second stage uses vacuum-optimized Vira engines for orbital insertion.

What does the $1.3 billion agreement cover?

Under the agreement, Firefly will manufacture and deliver complete Miranda and Vira shipsets for Blacklift’s first three orbital flights. It will also provide dedicated engineering support for the program.

Firefly will grant AST SpaceMobile an intellectual-property license to manufacture the engines independently for subsequent operational vehicles. Firefly is therefore the initial propulsion supplier and licensing partner, while AST SpaceMobile retains responsibility for developing and building Blacklift.

The first three flights will test both sides: Firefly’s ability to deliver integrated engine shipsets and AST’s ability to turn licensed hardware into a reliable launch vehicle.

What has to happen before late 2028?

AST SpaceMobile targets Blacklift’s maiden orbital test flight as soon as late 2028. That remains a schedule target rather than a demonstrated launch result; the announcement discloses no completed vehicle test and names no primary orbital launch site.

AST expects engine testing to run over the next two years, alongside spaceport selection and propulsion manufacturing facility build-outs. No launch-licensing or regulatory timetable accompanies the announcement; the specified license concerns manufacturing intellectual property.

Commercial terms are firmer than hardware readiness. The $1.3 billion commitment and Firefly’s obligation to supply shipsets for three flights are contractual, while the 20-tonne capacity, five-satellite mission and late-2028 debut still require engineering execution.

The money buys propulsion shipsets, support and intellectual-property rights, not a finished spaceport or a flight-proven launcher. Until Miranda and Vira hardware flies together on Blacklift, the 20-tonne capacity and five-satellite mission remain design specifications rather than operating results.

What changes for BlueBird deployment?

Blacklift would give AST SpaceMobile control over launch sequencing for its next-generation BlueBird fleet, a material change after orbital delays forced a pivot to SpaceX. In launch terms, the proposition is five full-scale spacecraft in one mission rather than another place in someone else’s queue.

For the first three flights, Firefly remains the propulsion supplier, even as the license prepares AST SpaceMobile to bring engine production in-house. That transfer of industrial capability is the central commercial promise of the agreement.

The next two years will test whether engine testing, factory construction and site selection can stay on the timetable implied by late 2028. If they do, AST SpaceMobile can replace launch-queue exposure with its own orbital delivery system. If they do not, the familiar bottleneck will merely have moved closer to home.