AST SpaceMobile Plans In-House Rocket to Solve Launch Crunch

AST SpaceMobile founder and CEO Abel Avellan has announced plans to develop the Blacklift rocket to overcome a commercial launch crunch that is hindering the deployment of the company's Bluebird satellites, as Ars Technica first reported.

Avellan described the proposed rocket as "simple," stating that the vehicle will be specifically tailored to lift five Bluebird satellites into low-Earth orbit at once. The Blacklift is intended to feature three stages, all composite tanks, and a reusable first stage with 20 metric tons of lift capacity. Avellan aims for the rocket to launch twice monthly from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia starting in 2028.

To accelerate development, AST SpaceMobile is committing $1.3 billion to acquire engines for the first three launches from Firefly Aerospace, along with a license to manufacture more engines. Avellan cited the Miranda first stage engine as "ready to fly," though Firefly CEO Jason Kim noted that qualification testing is still underway. Little is publicly known regarding the readiness of the Vira upper stage engine.

Financing for the project remains vague. AST SpaceMobile President Scott Wisniewski stated the company plans to spend "several hundred million dollars" on development in 2027. According to the company's balance sheet, it held approximately $2.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted) as of the end of September.

While the company seeks to provide direct-to-cell connectivity from an orbit of 550km, Ars Technica notes that the goal of launching by 2028 is highly ambitious, as the company attempts to compress a development cycle that took SpaceX significantly longer to achieve.