In Simple Terms
AST SpaceMobile wants to build a rocket of its own so it can send its internet satellites into space without relying entirely on other companies to launch them. It hopes to launch the rocket for the first time in 2028. The plan could give the company more control, but the rocket and its engines still need to be tested in flight.
From Phone Service to Launching Its Own Satellites
AST SpaceMobile is working on more than a network of communications satellites. The company also plans to develop its own rocket, called Black Lift, to carry its BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit. On 6 November 2026, the Texas-based company said it was aiming for the rocket’s first flight in 2028. The move reflects its desire to take greater control of its operations—from building satellites to getting them into space—instead of simply buying rides on other companies’ rockets.
AST SpaceMobile’s business centers on a satellite system designed to deliver internet service directly to mobile phones. Its BlueBird satellites operate in low Earth orbit, a region relatively close to Earth compared with higher orbits. By the time the company announced Black Lift, it had sent 13 BlueBird satellites into space, including eight of the newer Block 2 version.
The latest version has large antennas, each covering about 2,400 square feet, or roughly 223 square meters. The company says these are the largest antennas ever deployed in low Earth orbit on a commercial satellite. Their size is more than a cosmetic detail: the satellites form the part of the service that operates in space and is intended to connect phones, while the rocket carries them into orbit.
So far, BlueBird satellites have traveled to space on three types of rockets: SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and India’s LVM3. Using different rockets gives the company access to those already available on the market, but it also leaves launch timing and capacity dependent on arrangements with other providers. AST SpaceMobile believes developing its own rocket could give it more regular access to orbit and bring it closer to managing all parts of its operations itself.
What Does the Company Want from Black Lift?
AST SpaceMobile describes Black Lift as a reusable rocket and says it is developing it to increase its ability to launch satellites—not simply to add another product to its business. Company founder and CEO Abel Avellan says having a dedicated rocket could provide regular access to orbit and give the company more flexibility in scheduling and planning missions. In the company’s view, it could also make owning and operating its satellite system more affordable.
The broader goal is to build a global network of connections that does not rely solely on ground-based communications networks. The company hopes its system will provide connections wherever people live, work, and travel, and eventually support services that use artificial intelligence. These are ambitions described in the company’s vision, not results achieved simply by announcing a rocket. Reaching them will require Black Lift to be developed and tested successfully, and BlueBird satellites to perform their intended role on a large scale.
The information released so far offers few details about the rocket’s design, including how its stages would be recovered or reused after a flight. It is important, then, to distinguish an announced plan to develop a reusable rocket from proof that reusability is practical. The project still faces engineering work and testing, and the announced date for its first launch remains a future target, not a guarantee that the flight will happen then.
Firefly Engines First, Then Licensed Production
AST SpaceMobile will not build every part of the rocket’s propulsion system on its own from the outset. It has reached an agreement with Firefly Aerospace, another Texas company, to provide engines and related engineering services for Black Lift’s first three launches. After those initial flights, AST SpaceMobile plans to manufacture the engines itself under a license from Firefly. The approach combines the supplier’s expertise in the early phase with the company’s longer-term goal of building its own production capability.
The rocket’s design includes two engines with different names and separate roles. Miranda is intended to power the first stage, while Vira will power the upper stage. According to the information available, neither engine has flown in space. That means even important ground tests are not the same as operating an engine during an actual launch, when the rocket and its components face the conditions of flight.
Miranda has, however, made progress in ground tests in which the engine is fired. Company figures indicate that the engine has run for more than 4,200 seconds across 175 such tests. These trials offer evidence of how the engine performs while running, but they do not remove the need to test it as part of the rocket and then demonstrate its reliability during a real launch. The announcement did not report flight experience or comparable test figures for Vira.
Firefly’s current rocket, Alpha, uses different engines: Reaver on the first stage and Lightning on the upper stage. Those Alpha engines should not be confused with the new Miranda and Vira engines planned for Black Lift. AST SpaceMobile says that drawing on Miranda’s development and testing could shorten some of the time normally needed to build a new engine. Ultimately, though, success will depend on development, how the parts work together, and test results—not on the duration of ground tests alone.
Hundreds of Millions in Deals Before the First Flights
The company’s arrangements with Firefly consist of two separate agreements. The supply-and-services agreement for the first three launches is worth $500 million. AST SpaceMobile says the license to manufacture engines costs about $800 million; half of that amount was paid in cash and the other half in shares. These figures show that the company sees the project as more than a one-time engine purchase. It is investing in a technical and commercial relationship that could extend from the first launches to in-house production later on.
The agreements do not mean that Black Lift is ready to fly. According to the announcement, the supply-and-services agreement covers the first three launches, while the license allows the company to manufacture engines under the agreed terms. Many steps remain between signing contracts and being ready for space: completing the rocket’s design, fitting the engines, inspecting the systems, and then confirming that the rocket can carry its cargo and deliver it to orbit as planned.
The structure of the deal also shows how the company intends to move gradually from relying on an outside supplier to building its own expertise. At first, Firefly will supply the engines and provide engineering services. AST SpaceMobile then aims to manufacture them in-house under the license. If successful, this transition could reduce the company’s future dependence on outside supplies. But it would also make the company responsible for manufacturing, testing, and quality control—responsibilities that do not disappear simply because it holds the license.
A Rocket That Can Carry Many BlueBird Satellites
The company says Black Lift will be able to carry 20 tonnes to low Earth orbit. It estimates that this capacity would be enough to carry up to five BlueBird satellites on a single flight. For comparison, the Falcon 9’s stated capacity to the same orbit is about 25 tonnes. The figures put the new rocket in a class capable of carrying a substantial load, but they do not, by themselves, reveal the cost of a flight, when launches will be available, or how many flights the rocket could make each year.
The figure of five satellites matters because of the size of the satellite network the company hopes to build. If several satellites can be sent up together, each launch could deploy a batch of equipment in space rather than a single satellite. The actual number carried on any particular flight may depend on the flight plan, the satellites’ requirements, and how they are arranged. The company’s announcement therefore describes an expected limit on how much the rocket can carry, not a promise that every flight will carry five satellites.
The company does not plan to wait for its new rocket to be ready before continuing to deploy satellites. It already has contracts with other providers to launch more than 100 satellites during 2027 and 2028. That means its plan has two parallel tracks: continue using other rockets to expand the satellite network in the near term while working to prepare Black Lift for its target date in 2028. Under the arrangements announced so far, the satellite deployment plan is not entirely dependent on the new rocket being completed.
The Challenge of Turning a Plan into a Launch
The project is ambitious because it brings together the development of a rocket, new engines, and an expanding communications satellite network. Describing the rocket as reusable also raises an important technical question: how will its parts be recovered, and how much inspection or repair will they need before flying again? The company did not provide details that answer those questions in its announcement. Based on the information available, it is therefore not possible to determine how reusability might affect launch costs or frequency.
Another challenge is that neither Miranda nor Vira has been tested in space. Miranda’s 175 ground tests in which the engine was fired, with a total running time of more than 4,200 seconds, represent meaningful engineering progress, according to the company. But they do not settle how the engine will perform once fitted into the rocket. Vira also needs to be ready. The first three flights, for which Firefly will provide engines and services, will offer a practical test of the project’s ability to move from development to operations. The available information does not disclose the details of the testing process.
The rocket’s development will also need to keep pace with the company’s demand for launches. AST SpaceMobile has contracts covering more than 100 satellites in 2027 and 2028, while its target for Black Lift’s first flight is 2028. Other rockets will therefore remain essential to its deployment plans before the new rocket enters service, and perhaps during its early operations as well. The plan shows that building a dedicated rocket does not remove the company’s immediate need for the commercial launch market. Instead, it is meant to add another option over the longer term.
A Launch Market Set to Change in the Years Ahead
AST SpaceMobile sees the timing of Black Lift’s development as important given expected changes in the launch market. SpaceX has said it intends to retire the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy once its Starship vehicle is ready for operations. If that transition happens over the coming years, the options available to satellite operators could change—particularly if SpaceX gives priority on Starship to its own cargo.
Figures raised by Elon Musk illustrate the potential demand for rockets if those plans become real projects. He has discussed sending 100,000 satellites from the Starlink V3 generation, as well as one million AI data centers called StarMind. These figures reflect ambitions Musk has announced; they do not mean those numbers have been launched or that a confirmed deployment schedule has been achieved. Still, they help explain why companies are interested in having multiple launch options in a market where competition for rocket availability and capacity could increase.
In this context, AST SpaceMobile’s bet is not simply that its rocket will be cheaper or carry more than competing rockets. The company links the project to securing regular access to orbit for its satellites and strengthening its independence. Whether that leads to lower costs or a greater ability to meet demand will depend on the rocket’s actual performance, how frequently it can fly, its operating costs, and how well reuse works. The information available does not provide enough detail to judge these factors in advance.
The Bottom Line
Black Lift is a new step in AST SpaceMobile’s effort to build a space-based communications system that connects its satellites directly to phones—and to own a way of launching those satellites instead of always relying on other companies’ rockets. The company is targeting a first flight in 2028 and says the rocket will carry 20 tonnes to low Earth orbit, with room for up to five BlueBird satellites per flight. Its deal with Firefly includes $500 million for engines and services for the first three launches, as well as a license worth about $800 million for later engine production, half paid in cash and half in shares.
But important milestones remain. Miranda and Vira have not flown, the company has not explained how reuse would work in practice, and the 2028 date is a stated target rather than a sure thing. Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile plans to keep launching satellites with other providers and has contracts for more than 100 satellites during 2027 and 2028. The real test will be whether Black Lift can move beyond figures and contracts to deliver successful, repeatable flights that genuinely help expand the BlueBird satellite network.