AST SpaceMobile is targeting late 2028 for the first flight of its 20-ton Blacklift rocket, designed to carry BlueBird satellites and give the company another route to orbit, Payload reported.
AST plans to keep relying on outside launch providers while it develops Blacklift. Its existing launch agreements cover more than 100 BlueBird satellites scheduled for deployment across 2027 and 2028.
Firefly Aerospace is to supply 36 engines for Blacklift’s first three rockets: 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines, Payload reported. The agreement gives AST three years of engineering support from Firefly. AST plans to buy a license to manufacture the engines after the initial supply and support period.
Payload said Blacklift may help AST compete with Starlink, which can use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Starship rockets. The outlet cited anticipated changes to SpaceX’s commercial Falcon 9 and rideshare schedule as part of the launch-capacity backdrop.
AST founder, chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said the rocket is intended to provide “regular unconstrained access to orbit.” The company has scheduled a Blacklift unveiling in New York City for Thursday, Nov. 12.
