From Ars Technica · · 2m
Satellite company so desperate for launches it's building its own rocket
AST SpaceMobile announced it will develop a medium-lift rocket called Blacklift to launch its direct-to-cell satellites, claiming commercial flights by late 2028, a timeline experts say is wildly optimistic.
In brief
AST SpaceMobile announced it will develop a medium-lift rocket called Blacklift to launch its direct-to-cell satellites, claiming commercial flights by late 2028, a timeline experts say is wildly optimistic. AST SpaceMobile is developing its own rocket because it cannot secure enough launch capacity for its…
Texas satellite company builds its own rocket
AST SpaceMobile, a publicly traded Texas company building large direct-to-cell satellites, announced Friday it is developing a medium-lift rocket named Blacklift with capacity to lift twenty metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
Why build a rocket at all
AST SpaceMobile has been having trouble finding rides to space for its satellites. The company said it would start launching Blacklift commercially in late twenty twenty-eight.
The timeline is wildly optimistic
To anyone with basic understanding of rockets, that timeline is wildly, fantastically, and stupidly optimistic. Historical records show developing a comparable rocket takes five to nine years from announcement to first orbital launch.
SpaceX set the speed record
SpaceX became the first purely commercial launch startup to announce plans for a medium-lift rocket in two thousand five.
Other companies are taking much longer
Since twenty fifteen, companies including United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, Firefly, and Stoke Space announced medium to heavy lift vehicles.
AST is buying engines from Firefly
AST SpaceMobile signed an agreement with Firefly to deliver engines for the first three Blacklift rockets and acquire a perpetual license to manufacture Miranda and Vira engines. Nine Miranda engines will power Blacklift's first stage.
The engine deal costs one point three billion dollars
AST committed one point three billion dollars to Firefly for the engine license at eight hundred million dollars, twenty seven Miranda engines and nine Vira engines at two hundred fifty million dollars, and engineering support…
AST already has launch agreements in place
AST SpaceMobile has existing commercial launch contracts with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies. The company said agreements now cover in total over one hundred BlueBird satellites to be deployed cumulatively between twenty twenty seven…
The real question remains unanswered
If AST already has agreements covering deployment of more than one hundred BlueBird satellites by end of twenty twenty eight, what is Blacklift supposed to accomplish?
Here's the gist
AST SpaceMobile is developing its own rocket because it cannot secure enough launch capacity for its satellites, signalling a worsening crisis in the commercial launch industry.
