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$ASTS - Many on X have been critical of AST SpaceMobile for not procuring more launch slots over the last little while.
Now many are critical of AST solving this issue and taking control of the launch bottleneck that will occur over the next decade. AST will need to launch hundreds if not thousands of Bluebirds over that timeframe and can’t be held back by external launch providers own timelines to ramp up their own business.
This upcoming week will answer a lot of your questions with more surprises yet to come!
$ASTS - If you don't already know, AST SpaceMobile now has a "Blacklift" tab on their website
ast-science.com/blacklift/
$RKLB - This news is insanely bullish for launch providers like Rocket Lab.
Will similar deals like this be in Rocket Lab’s future?
Those who own launch, own the keys to space! 😎
AST SpaceMobile to Build Own 20-Ton Rocket to Deploy BlueBird Satellites in Low Earth Orbit Using Miranda Engines from Firefly Aerospace.
businesswire.com/news/home/2…
#ASTSpaceMobile #Broadband #ConnectingtheUnconnected #BlueBirds #Blacklift
$ASTS - Clear Street reiterates $115 price target on AST SpaceMobile and maintains buy rating
Key Points:
Full integration costs ~$1.3B. Blacklift would complete AST’s end-to-end model and cut reliance on Falcon 9, with SpaceX (SPCX, Buy) reportedly turning away new bookings beyond 2028 (Bloomberg). The Firefly deal includes ~$800M upfront ($400M cash; 10-14M Class A shares) for a perpetual engine license, $250M for the first three rockets’ engines, and $250M for three years of engineering support. That is ~$900M in cash and ~3% dilution, vs. $3.7B in pro forma 2Q26 cash and restricted cash.
Near-term relief depends on two rockets returning.
ULA’s Vulcan targets a return to flight Friday, November 13, after a nine-month grounding. A successful flight would indirectly help AST by freeing Falcon 9 capacity, though AST has not publicly confirmed Vulcan contracts. A December New Glenn return would restore AST’s high-capacity option at up to eight BlueBirds per launch.
Sovereignty is a growing tailwind.
Vodafone’s (NASDAQ: VOD, NC) Tim Boddy said at Network X in Vienna that the AST venture is a stronger sovereign option than Starlink or Amazon, as its core network and radio infrastructure sit in Europe under the Luxembourg JV deal (Light Reading).
Spectrum is the opportunity the market is missing.
AST’s Ligado agreement gives it 80+years of rights to up to 45 MHz (40 MHz of L-band) for $550M at closing, pending FCC approval. SkyTerra Next would put L-band payloads on 96 AST satellites. Iridium (IRDM, Neutral) opposes, alleging spectrum hoarding; Ligado disputes it. At 45 MHz x 340M POPs x $1.10 per MHz-pop (SpaceX paid ~$1.00 for EchoStar’s 50 MHz, ~$17B), approval implies up to $16.8B in value, vs. an ~$11.7B market cap at $30.
Valuation for: AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS)
ASTS shares currently trade at ~14x our 2028E and ~6x our 2029E adjusted EBITDA of ~$0.9B and ~$2.1B, at $30. We reiterate our Buy rating and $115 price target, which implies 20x 2029E adjusted EBITDA of ~$2.1B. Our DCF cross-check, which includes spectrum, is $110 per share.
$ASTS - Investors might not initially like AST SpaceMobile becoming a launch company overnight but Abel is thinking much longer-term for the next decade.
Lowering your cost per satellite and controlling the key launch bottleneck will pay dividends towards achieving juicier margins down the road.
Launch is hard yes but they are not diversifying away from external launch providers, they are just giving themselves more options in the future.
Governments will also prioritize AST (DPAS rating programs) since they will offer resilient, sovereign end-to-end launch and communications pipelines without international launch vulnerabilities.
I think we will see more big news incoming that connects all the pieces soon! 👀
Just my 2 cents
$ASTS x $FLY partnership was definitely not on my bingo card
I think the big takeaway is AST SpaceMobile said they have external launch agreements in place for 100 Bluebirds in 2027/2028 before using the new Blacklift rocket in late 2028
$ASTS - AST SpaceMobile to Build Own 20-Ton Rocket to Deploy BlueBird Satellites in Low Earth Orbit Using Miranda Engines from Firefly Aerospace
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ("AST SpaceMobile") (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications, today announced it will build its own 20-ton rocket to deploy its BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit using Miranda and Vira engines from Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ: FLY)
he rocket, named Blacklift, will be custom-built by AST SpaceMobile and designed for reusability, enabling up to five BlueBird satellites per launch starting in late 2028. As part of this announcement, AST SpaceMobile has signed an agreement with Firefly to deliver engines for the first three Blacklift rockets, provide engineering services over a three-year period, and will acquire the perpetual license to manufacture the Miranda and vacuum-variant Vira engines. AST SpaceMobile will produce this technology at a new engine manufacturing facility in the United States.
“The Blacklift rocket is the springboard to significantly expand our total addressable market, providing AST SpaceMobile with regular unconstrained access to orbit and providing for most favorable owners’ economics in the industry. This will accelerate our mission to build a new layer of global connectivity, extending connectivity beyond terrestrial networks and helping to bring AI-enabled services wherever people live, work and travel,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.
This step completes AST SpaceMobile’s long-held strategy to achieve end-to-end vertical integration. The Blacklift rocket will complement the company’s in-house capability manufacturing the largest phased arrays operating today in low Earth orbit. The custom-built rocket is uniquely designed for simple, mission-specific, repetitive launch to low Earth orbit, using simple, tested fuels and materials and a proven engine architecture with flight heritage and over a decade of development completed.
“This is a bold transformational deal for Firefly, for AST SpaceMobile, and for the space industry," said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. "When a company sets out to build its own rocket, the engine is the hardest, highest-stakes decision they make, and AST SpaceMobile has chosen to partner with Firefly for its most powerful rocket engines.”
Firefly’s Miranda engine has performed over 175 hot fire tests for more than 4,200 seconds – the equivalent of approximately 20 full first stage flights – and completed a flight-like test at 110% performance of the 230,000 lbf thrust engine. Firefly is one of a few companies in the United States with a proven liquid engine of this scale, making it a scarcity in the industry. Firefly has demonstrated repeated launch success to orbit with its Alpha rocket completed for U.S. Government and defense customers, and the company is the first and only private company to ever successfully land and operate spacecraft on the Moon.
“The Miranda engine will allow us to leapfrog the traditional five-to-ten-year development cycle as we build Blacklift. With this in-house capability, we will be able to better serve our commercial and government customers, across an expanded total addressable market beyond direct-to-device including USG radar, USG secure communications, IoT, federal emergency, AI edge compute and additional funded networks,” said Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile.
Under the terms of the license agreement, AST SpaceMobile will pay approximately $800 million in upfront consideration, comprised of $400 million in cash and 10 to 14 million shares of Class A Common Stock, as determined by a forward VWAP calculation. Under the terms of the supply and services agreement, AST SpaceMobile will pay $250 million for the delivery of engines for its first three rocket launches and $250 million over a three-year period for engineering support services.
The Blacklift announcement supplements AST SpaceMobile’s contracted multi-partner orbital launch strategy. AST SpaceMobile will continue to use external providers, with agreements now covering in total over 100 BlueBird satellites to be deployed cumulatively between 2027 and 2028. The company also has access to further launches for U.S. Government missions alongside its Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) rated program.
Blacklift Unveiling Event
AST SpaceMobile will host an unveiling event for its Blacklift rocket on Thursday, November 12 in New York City. The company will webcast the event via its Investor Relations website at investors.ast-science.com/
$ASTS - AST SpaceMobile to Build Own 20-Ton Rocket to Deploy BlueBird Satellites in Low Earth Orbit Using Miranda Engines from Firefly Aerospace
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ("AST SpaceMobile") (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications, today announced it will build its own 20-ton rocket to deploy its BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit using Miranda and Vira engines from Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ: FLY)
he rocket, named Blacklift, will be custom-built by AST SpaceMobile and designed for reusability, enabling up to five BlueBird satellites per launch starting in late 2028. As part of this announcement, AST SpaceMobile has signed an agreement with Firefly to deliver engines for the first three Blacklift rockets, provide engineering services over a three-year period, and will acquire the perpetual license to manufacture the Miranda and vacuum-variant Vira engines. AST SpaceMobile will produce this technology at a new engine manufacturing facility in the United States.
“The Blacklift rocket is the springboard to significantly expand our total addressable market, providing AST SpaceMobile with regular unconstrained access to orbit and providing for most favorable owners’ economics in the industry. This will accelerate our mission to build a new layer of global connectivity, extending connectivity beyond terrestrial networks and helping to bring AI-enabled services wherever people live, work and travel,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.
This step completes AST SpaceMobile’s long-held strategy to achieve end-to-end vertical integration. The Blacklift rocket will complement the company’s in-house capability manufacturing the largest phased arrays operating today in low Earth orbit. The custom-built rocket is uniquely designed for simple, mission-specific, repetitive launch to low Earth orbit, using simple, tested fuels and materials and a proven engine architecture with flight heritage and over a decade of development completed.
“This is a bold transformational deal for Firefly, for AST SpaceMobile, and for the space industry," said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. "When a company sets out to build its own rocket, the engine is the hardest, highest-stakes decision they make, and AST SpaceMobile has chosen to partner with Firefly for its most powerful rocket engines.”
Firefly’s Miranda engine has performed over 175 hot fire tests for more than 4,200 seconds – the equivalent of approximately 20 full first stage flights – and completed a flight-like test at 110% performance of the 230,000 lbf thrust engine. Firefly is one of a few companies in the United States with a proven liquid engine of this scale, making it a scarcity in the industry. Firefly has demonstrated repeated launch success to orbit with its Alpha rocket completed for U.S. Government and defense customers, and the company is the first and only private company to ever successfully land and operate spacecraft on the Moon.
“The Miranda engine will allow us to leapfrog the traditional five-to-ten-year development cycle as we build Blacklift. With this in-house capability, we will be able to better serve our commercial and government customers, across an expanded total addressable market beyond direct-to-device including USG radar, USG secure communications, IoT, federal emergency, AI edge compute and additional funded networks,” said Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile.
Under the terms of the license agreement, AST SpaceMobile will pay approximately $800 million in upfront consideration, comprised of $400 million in cash and 10 to 14 million shares of Class A Common Stock, as determined by a forward VWAP calculation. Under the terms of the supply and services agreement, AST SpaceMobile will pay $250 million for the delivery of engines for its first three rocket launches and $250 million over a three-year period for engineering support services.
The Blacklift announcement supplements AST SpaceMobile’s contracted multi-partner orbital launch strategy. AST SpaceMobile will continue to use external providers, with agreements now covering in total over 100 BlueBird satellites to be deployed cumulatively between 2027 and 2028. The company also has access to further launches for U.S. Government missions alongside its Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) rated program.
Blacklift Unveiling Event
AST SpaceMobile will host an unveiling event for its Blacklift rocket on Thursday, November 12 in New York City. The company will webcast the event via its Investor Relations website at investors.ast-science.com/
