AST SpaceMobile gets engine-making rights; Firefly keeps the IP

AST SpaceMobile’s agreement with Firefly Aerospace gives it a license to manufacture Firefly engines for its planned rockets, while Firefly retains ownership of the engine intellectual property. Firefly valued the deal at more than $1.3 billion; it covers 36 engines and three years of engineering support, according to the company’s announcement on November 6, 2026.

What the agreement gives each company

Firefly says it will supply 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile’s first three rockets. The deal also includes three years of engineering support. Firefly says AST SpaceMobile can manufacture the engines under a license, while Firefly retains full ownership of the engine IP, or intellectual property.

Firefly says the agreement’s consideration includes cash and AST Class A common shares, which are subject to lock-up periods. The arrangement gives AST manufacturing rights without transferring ownership of the underlying engine technology.

A manufacturing license changes who can build an engine; it does not change who owns its design.

Firefly also says the agreement will support planned hiring, purchases of long-lead materials and equipment, and multiple new test bays in Briggs, Texas, as it expands production and testing.

What Firefly reports about Miranda testing

Firefly reports that Miranda had completed more than 175 hot-fire tests, with a cumulative test duration exceeding 4,200 seconds. The company also reports a 230,000 lbf engine test at 110% performance that lasted 226 seconds, 20 seconds longer than its stated nominal flight duration of 206 seconds.

These are Firefly’s reported Miranda engine results. They are not tests of the planned Blacklift rocket.

How the deal fits the Blacklift timeline

AST SpaceMobile plans to develop Blacklift as a reusable heavy-lift rocket for its BlueBird satellites. PCMag reported on November 6, 2026, that first launches were targeted for late 2028 and that the planned rocket could carry up to five BlueBird satellites per launch.

PCMag also reported that AST SpaceMobile had agreements with outside launch providers for more than 100 BlueBird satellites scheduled for launches in 2027 and 2028. Blacklift is therefore a later, parallel launch plan, rather than the launcher for those earlier scheduled deployments.

For context on the service side of AST SpaceMobile’s work, see NeoTeo’s earlier account of AT&T’s first call handoff with AST SpaceMobile.