Firefly inks $1.3 billion deal to supply engines for new AST SpaceMobile Blacklift rocket
ASTS•Firefly Aerospace will supply engines for AST SpaceMobile’s Blacklift rocket in a $1.3 billion deal. The agreement covers engines for the first three rockets and licenses AST to eventually manufacture them itself.
1. Engine supply deal
Firefly will build and supply 27 Miranda core engines and nine in-space Vira engines for the first three Blacklift rockets. The agreement also grants AST SpaceMobile a license to eventually manufacture the engines itself. Firefly shares rose about 18% after the announcement, while AST SpaceMobile shares gained about 1%.
2. Blacklift plans
AST SpaceMobile is targeting a late-2028 debut launch for Blacklift, which it says is designed for reusability and can carry up to five BlueBird satellites per launch. The company still plans to use external rockets and has more than 100 launch agreements as it targets a 248-satellite broadband network. Roughly a dozen BlueBird satellites have launched since 2024 on rockets from SpaceX, Blue Origin and the Indian Space Research Organisation.
