# AST SpaceMobile plans Blacklift rocket after struggling to secure launches

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/you-know-the-launch-market-is-tough-when-satellite-companies-start-building-rockets/
- Published: 2026-11-06T18:20:47+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T19:27:38+00:00
- Original publisher: Ars Technica
- Original article: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/11/ast-spacemobile-is-so-desperate-for-launch-theyre-building-their-own-rocket/
- Topics: Space, Technology

## Key points

- AST SpaceMobile plans to develop its own rocket.
- Blacklift is designed to carry 20 metric tons to orbit.
- Its late 2028 launch target is highly ambitious.

## Summary

AST SpaceMobile, which is developing large satellites for direct-to-cell communications, says it will build its own medium-lift rocket, Blacklift, after struggling to secure launches. The move reflects growing pressure on satellite operators to book launch capacity years ahead, and could give the company more control over access to orbit and costs.

AST says Blacklift will carry 20 metric tons to low-Earth orbit and begin commercial launches in late 2028. That schedule is far quicker than the five to nine years typically taken by recent medium- or heavy-lift rocket projects; only United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, among several announced since 2015, has reached orbit, after 8.7 years. AST says it has signed an agreement with Firefly to supply engines for the first three rockets and provide three years of engineering services.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.