AST SpaceMobile Unveils $1.3 Billion Engine Deal with Firefly Aerospace to Power New Heavy-Lift Rocket
- AST SpaceMobile signed a $1.3 billion agreement with Firefly Aerospace for 36 rocket engines, an intellectual property license, and engineering support over three years. The engines will power the first three Blacklift rockets, which AST is custom-designing.
- Seeking to reduce dependence on third-party launch providers, AST is developing its own 20-ton rocket, Blacklift. The move follows a May ground test explosion of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket that forced launch pauses.
- Firefly will supply 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for the new vehicles. However, Blacklift will not start launching until late 2028, limiting its immediate impact on AST's satellite deployment goals.
- The announcement drew mixed reactions; AST CEO Abel Avellan tweeted, "We are done waiting." Meanwhile, Reddit investors expressed concern, writing, "We're hanging on by a financial thread building and deploying insanely hard technical products."
- With only 13 satellites currently in orbit, AST faces delays launching continuous satellite-to-phone service for carriers like Verizon. The company will provide further rocket plan details during a November 12 earnings call.
20 Articles
20 Articles
AST SpaceMobile unveils $1.3 billion engine deal with Firefly Aerospace to power new heavy-lift rocket
The company behind the Bluebird direct-to-cell satellite constellation said the addition of its own heavy-lift rocket is the final piece of its plans for vertical integration.
$1.3 Billion Engine Contract with AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Transforms Firefly Aerospace's (NASDAQ: FLY) Growth Runway
A landmark supply agreement with AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is set to dramatically expand Firefly Aerospace’s (NASDAQ: FLY) manufacturing capacity, infrastructure, and workforce in Texas. The three-year contract, valued at more than $1.3 billion, calls for Firefly to deliver 36 rocket engines and license its engine intellectual property to AST SpaceMobile for use in a […]
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Firefly Signs $1.3 Billion Engine Deal for AST SpaceMobile’s New Blacklift Rocket
Firefly Aerospace has signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion to supply engines for a new rocket being developed by satellite communications company AST ... The post Firefly Signs $1.3 Billion Engine Deal for AST SpaceMobile’s New Blacklift Rocket first appeared on [your]NEWS.
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