AST SpaceMobile Plans Blacklift Rocket to Launch Bluebird Satellites by 2028

AST SpaceMobile founder Abel Avellan announced plans to develop a new launch vehicle called Blacklift that would carry five Bluebird satellites per mission and aim for a first flight in 2028 from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Rocket design and engine strategy

Avellan described the Blacklift as a simple three stage rocket with all composite tanks, a reusable first stage and 20 metric tons of lift capacity to low Earth orbit. He said the company has secured engines for the first three flights from Firefly Aerospace, including the Miranda first stage engine and the Vira upper stage engine, and holds a license to manufacture additional units. Avellan claimed that engine development accounts for 80 percent of a typical rocket program, a figure that independent observers question.

Launch market pressure

The satellite operator says it is forced to build its own launcher because existing commercial launch capacity cannot meet the demand for its direct to cell Bluebird constellation, which operates at roughly 550 kilometers altitude. Avellan stressed that the company does not want to become a launch provider but needs assured access to orbit for its growing satellite fleet.

Technical and financial challenges

Industry analysts note that composite tank development has caused delays for other new rockets such as Rocket Lab's Neutron, and that qualification testing for the Miranda engine is still underway. The upper stage engine Vira has little public flight heritage. Avellan and AST president Scott Wisniewski did not detail the full development budget, though the company expects to spend several hundred million dollars on Blacklift in 2027 and holds about 2.8 billion dollars in unrestricted cash as of September.

Strategic positioning

Avellan positioned AST as a partner to mobile network operators, contrasting the approach with SpaceX's Starlink service, which some carriers view as competitive. He said the company aims to enhance existing networks rather than replace them. Observers caution that moving from satellite operations to orbital launch typically takes many years, and the aggressive two year timeline for Blacklift may be optimistic.

Sources: Ars Technica