- Published on
AST SpaceMobile announces new 'Blacklift' rocket, targets 2028 launch debut
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
AST SpaceMobile announced on Nov. 6 that it is developing a reusable rocket called Blacklift to launch its broadband satellites to low Earth orbit. The Texas-based company targets the rocket’s first flight in 2028. Blacklift is intended to give AST SpaceMobile more direct and regular access to orbit.
AST SpaceMobile is building a LEO constellation of BlueBird satellites that beam internet service directly to cell phones. It has launched 13 BlueBirds to date, including eight Block 2 variants. Each Block 2 spacecraft carries antennas covering 2,400 square feet, the largest ever deployed in LEO by a commercial satellite.
BlueBirds have flown on SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and India’s Launch Vehicle Mark-3. AST SpaceMobile now wants greater vertical integration. CEO Abel Avellan said Blacklift would expand its addressable market and provide “regular unconstrained access to orbit.”
Blacklift will be powered by Firefly Aerospace engines for its first three launches under a supply and services agreement worth $500 million. The booster will use Miranda engines, and the upper stage will use Vira engines. AST SpaceMobile will then build the engines itself under a licensing deal worth about $800 million, split evenly between cash and stock.
Miranda has no flight experience but has completed 175 hot fires and more than 4,200 seconds of ground testing, AST SpaceMobile said. Blacklift will be able to haul 20 tons to LEO, enough for up to five BlueBird satellites per launch. The company still holds contracts to launch more than 100 BlueBirds in 2027 and 2028.
The announcement came 10 days after Cowboy Space unveiled Big Iron, another private rocket targeting 2028. The launch market may shift as SpaceX plans to retire Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy after Starship becomes operational. AST SpaceMobile’s move reflects efforts by satellite operators to secure launch capacity.
