AST SpaceMobile lays out plan for Blacklift rocket to launch its Bluebird satellites

Summary

Satellite operator AST SpaceMobile plans to develop its own Blacklift rocket to launch its Bluebird direct-to-cell satellites into low-Earth orbit.
The company committed $1.3 billion to Firefly Aerospace for Miranda engines for the first three Blacklift launches and a license to make more engines.
Founder Abel Avellan says the rocket will lift five Bluebird satellites at a time and fly twice monthly from Wallops, Virginia, starting in 2028.
The company says it is building the rocket because demand for its satellites exceeds available commercial launch capacity.
AST SpaceMobile had about $2.8 billion in unrestricted cash at the end of September and has historically been successful raising more capital.

Firefly Aerospace chief executive Jason Kim said qualification testing of the Miranda engine remains underway; it has not flown on an orbital rocket.
Eric Berger judged Avellan's 2028 timeline preposterous, said he underestimates rocket building, and forecast billions more will be needed.
Berger judged that AST SpaceMobile's underlying business plan makes sense and that it is succeeding at building large Bluebird satellites.
Avellan said the rocket can be simplified as 'a big tank feeding engines,' and that AST partners with mobile operators rather than competing with them.
AST SpaceMobile president Scott Wisniewski forecast the company will spend several hundred million dollars on Blacklift development in 2027.
Berger suggested Avellan may end up out of the launch business within a few years given how difficult and expensive it is.

Building a rocket is hard. AST SpaceMobile thinks it's "simple."arstechnica.com· 2d
An Ars Technica article by Eric Berger covers satellite operator AST SpaceMobile's plan, laid out by founder Abel Avellan at a Thursday event, to build the Blacklift rocket — fueled by $1.3 billion committed to Firefly Aerospace engines and tailored to lift five Bluebird satellites at a time, launching twice monthly from Wallops by 2028. Berger is skeptical: he calls the 2028 timeline preposterous, judges Avellan underestimates rocket building, and expects billions more will be needed, even while deeming the company's business plan sensible.