AST SpaceMobile to Build Own 20-Ton Rocket to Deploy BlueBird Satellites in Low Earth Orbit Using Miranda Engines from Firefly Aerospace
Business Wire•06/11/2026•07:30 ET
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Key Highlights
- ➤AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) will build reusable 20-ton Blacklift rocket for up to five satellites per launch
- ➤AST SpaceMobile will pay approximately $800 million upfront for perpetual Miranda and Vira engine license
- ➤AST SpaceMobile will pay $500 million for first-three-launch engines and three-year engineering services
- ➤External launch agreements cover over 100 BlueBird satellites deployed cumulatively between 2027 and 2028
- ➤Firefly Aerospace (FLY) will supply engines and engineering services for Blacklift’s first three rockets
Expert Statements
Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile
“The Blacklift rocket is the springboard to significantly expand our total addressable market, providing AST SpaceMobile with regular unconstrained access to orbit and providing for most favorable owners’ economics in the industry. This will accelerate our mission to build a new layer of global connectivity, extending connectivity beyond terrestrial networks and helping to bring AI-enabled services wherever people live, work and travel.”
Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace
“This is a bold transformational deal for Firefly, for AST SpaceMobile, and for the space industry. When a company sets out to build its own rocket, the engine is the hardest, highest-stakes decision they make, and AST SpaceMobile has chosen to partner with Firefly for its most powerful rocket engines.”
Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile
“The Miranda engine will allow us to leapfrog the traditional five-to-ten-year development cycle as we build Blacklift. With this in-house capability, we will be able to better serve our commercial and government customers, across an expanded total addressable market beyond direct-to-device including USG radar, USG secure communications, IoT, federal emergency, AI edge compute and additional funded networks.”
AST SpaceMobile to Build Own 20-Ton Rocket to Deploy BlueBird Satellites in Low Earth Orbit Using Miranda Engines from Firefly Aerospace
The rocket – named Blacklift – is designed for reusability, leveraging an engine architecture with over a decade of development and proven flight heritage, enabling up to five BlueBird satellites per launch
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