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AST SpaceMobile
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Updated Nov 6, 2026
AST SpaceMobile announces $800M Firefly engine deal and plans own 20-ton Blacklift rocket for late-2028 operations
AST SpaceMobile disclosed a transformational vertical-integration move: a perpetual license to manufacture Firefly's Miranda and Vira rocket engines, funded by $800 million upfront ($400M cash + $10-14M shares at forward VWAP), plus $500M in staged delivery and engineering services through 2029. The custom-built Blacklift rocket, designed to launch five BlueBird satellites per mission starting late 2028, eliminates AST's launch-cadence constraint and shifts the company from dependent customer to owner-operator of critical orbital access. Simultaneously, AST maintains external launch agreements covering 100+ BlueBird deployments through 2028, signaling confidence in dual-track launch strategy. This move materializes AST's decade-long strategy of end-to-end vertical integration and repositions the company as an integrated space-based cellular infrastructure provider with in-house manufacturing of both phased-array satellites (already in production through BlueBird 51) and launch vehicles.
Tone: bullishRevenue
$70.9M
ASTS 10-K · FY 2025
Employees
1,126
Revenue FY2024
$4.4M
Founded
2017
Profile
ASTS 10-K Item 1 · Mar 2, 2026AST SpaceMobile is building the first global Cellular Broadband network in space designed to connect directly to standard, unmodified smartphones without specialized hardware. The company operates through partnerships with over 50 mobile network operators (MNOs) representing nearly 3 billion subscribers, intending to offer SpaceMobile Service via a revenue-sharing model. Revenue to date has been limited to gateway equipment sales to MNOs and performance-based contracts with the U.S. government; the commercial SpaceMobile Service has not yet launched.
Read filing description ↓ Collapse description ↑
We are building the first and only global Cellular Broadband network in space to be accessible directly by everyday smartphones (2G/4G-LTE/5G devices) for commercial use, and for other applications for government use utilizing our extensive intellectual property and patent portfolio. The SpaceMobile Service is being designed to provide cost-effective, high-speed Cellular Broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage using existing mobile devices. The SpaceMobile Service currently is planned to be provided by a constellation of high-powered, large phased-array satellites in LEO using low-band and mid-band spectrum controlled by MNOs. We intend to work with MNOs to offer the SpaceMobile Service to the MNOs' end-user customers. We currently have partnerships with over 50 MNOs with nearly 3 billion subscribers globally. Our vision is that users will not need to subscribe to the SpaceMobile Service directly through us, nor will they need to purchase any new or additional equipment. Instead, users will be able to access the SpaceMobile Service when prompted on their mobile device that they are no longer within range of the land-based facilities of the MNOs or will be able to purchase a plan directly with their existing mobile provider. We intend to seek to use a revenue-sharing business model for the SpaceMobile Service in our agreements with MNOs. We also intend to leverage our patented technology, including the large phased array and high power capability of our BlueBird satellites, for a variety of non-communication and communication applications in the government sector. We have entered into agreements with the U.S. government either directly or through prime contractors to perform certain tasks.
Primary products
- SpaceMobile Service
- BlueBird (BB) satellites
- Block 1 BB satellites
- Block 2 BB satellites
- BlueWalker 3 (BW3) test satellite
- Gateway equipment and software
Business segments
End markets
Geographies
Named customers
Named competitors
“We believe the planned SpaceMobile Service will compete with the direct-to-device segment of the mobile satellite service sector by providing the ability to support Cellular Broadband data rates, utilize existing unmodified handsets and operate in virtually all of the low to mid-band spectrums used by MNOs today.” Competitive position, as stated in the filing
Revenue commentary · FY 2025
Total revenues increased from $4.4 million in 2024 to $70.9 million in 2025, driven by a sharp rise in gateway equipment and software sales to MNOs and growth in U.S. government services contracts.
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