Key facts
- Firefly will supply 27 Miranda engines and 9 Vira in-space engines for the first three Blacklift rockets.
- The agreement grants AST SpaceMobile a license to eventually manufacture the engines itself.
- AST SpaceMobile said Blacklift is designed for reusability and can loft up to five BlueBird satellites per launch.
- AST SpaceMobile said it is targeting late 2028 for Blacklift's debut launch, which the report calls an ambitious timeline.
Firefly Aerospace will supply core engines for a new rocket under development by satellite communications firm AST SpaceMobile in a $1.3 billion deal, the companies announced on November 6, 2026.
Under the agreement, Firefly will build and supply 27 of its new Miranda engines and 9 in-space Vira engines for the first three Blacklift rockets. The deal also grants AST a license to eventually manufacture the engines itself.
AST SpaceMobile is developing Blacklift as its own heavy-lift rocket as it works to deploy a satellite constellation for global cellular broadband service and reduce reliance on third-party rockets such as SpaceX's Falcon 9. The company said the rocket is "designed for reusability" and can loft up to five of its BlueBird satellites per launch.
AST said it is targeting late 2028 for the debut launch of Blacklift, a timeline the report describes as ambitious.