AST SpaceMobile Inks $1.3B Deal with Firefly Aerospace to Build Its Own Heavy-Lift Rocket

The commercial space industry has long operated on a clear division of labor: satellite companies build the payloads, and rocket companies provide the ride. That dynamic is shifting as direct-to-cell satellite operator AST SpaceMobile announced plans to build its own 20-ton reusable rocket, dubbed Blacklift. To power the new launch vehicle, the company has struck a $1.3 billion agreement with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace to acquire 36 rocket engines and the intellectual property rights to manufacture them.

Under the three-year agreement, Firefly will deliver 27 of its Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile's first three Blacklift rockets. Rather than simply buying hardware, AST SpaceMobile is paying approximately $800 million in cash and stock for a perpetual license to manufacture the engines at a new U.S. facility. The remaining $500 million covers the initial engine deliveries and extensive engineering support to help integrate the propulsion systems into the new heavy-lift architecture.

The move represents an aggressive vertical integration strategy rarely seen outside of SpaceX. While most mega-constellation operators remain entirely dependent on external launch providers, AST SpaceMobile is spending heavily to control its own deployment schedule for its massive BlueBird satellites. For Firefly, the deal provides a massive capital injection to accelerate its own launch vehicle production and infrastructure expansion without giving up ownership of its core intellectual property.