Firefly Aerospace Signs Rocket Engine Deal Valued at More Than $1.3 Billion with AST SpaceMobile
Consideration includes cash and AST shares subject to lock-ups, while Firefly retains ownership of its engine intellectual property.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Firefly Aerospace (FLY) signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion to supply rocket engines and related support to AST SpaceMobile.
The three-year agreement covers 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile’s first three heavy-lift rockets, engineering support, and a license to manufacture the engines. Firefly retains full ownership of its engine intellectual property and will continue serving government and commercial launch customers.
Payment consists of cash and AST Class A common stock, with the shares subject to various lock-up periods. Firefly plans to use the additional funds to expand hiring, procure long-lead materials and equipment, and add infrastructure, including multiple new test bays in Briggs, Texas, to accelerate its own launch vehicle production and technology roadmap.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works
Positive
- Major pointMore than $1.3 billion agreement adds cash and AST shares for engines, licensing and engineering support. 51% of market cap
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.36 engines over three years comprise 27 Miranda and nine Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile’s first three rockets.
- Minor pointFull engine intellectual property ownership remains with Firefly despite AST SpaceMobile’s manufacturing license.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Planned production expansion includes hiring, materials, equipment and multiple new test bays in Briggs, Texas.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Added engineering capacity is expected to accelerate milestones across Firefly’s core programs and technology roadmap.
Negative
- Minor pointAST Class A common stock consideration is subject to various lock-up periods.
Details
Market Reaction – FLY
On Nov 6, the day this news came out, the latest delayed price for FLY is 12.09% above the previous close. Argus tracked a peak move of +10.4% during the session. Our momentum scanner has recorded 24 alerts for this stock so far that day. The latest delayed price is $17.01. Relative volume is exceptionally heavy at 15.5x what this stock usually trades by this time of day.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus (15 min delayed). Upgrade to Gold for real-time data.
Key Figures
- Agreement value
- More than $1.3 billion
- AST SpaceMobile payments to Firefly; cash and AST Class A Common Stock
- Agreement duration
- 3 years
- Engine delivery, IP license, and engineering support
- Engines covered
- 36 engines
- For AST SpaceMobile's new heavy-lift rocket
- Engine mix
- 27 Miranda engines; 9 Vira engines
- For AST SpaceMobile's first three rockets
- Hot fire tests
- More than 175 tests
- Firefly's Miranda engine
- Hot fire test time
- More than 4,200 seconds
- Firefly's Miranda engine
- Flight-like test performance
- 110%
- Of the 230,000 lbf thrust engine's performance
- Engine thrust
- 230,000 lbf
- Firefly's Miranda engine
Key Terms
lock-up periods financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Three-year agreement includes engine delivery, licensed IP, and engineering support for AST SpaceMobile’s new heavy-lift rocket, injecting additional funds for Firefly to accelerate its own launch vehicle production
*Firefly CEO Jason Kim and AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan in front of Firefly’s Miranda engine at its Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas; Credit: Firefly Aerospace
CEDAR PARK, Texas, Nov. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Firefly Aerospace (Nasdaq: FLY), a market leading space and defense technology company, today announced an agreement with AST SpaceMobile (Nasdaq: ASTS) for more than
Under the agreement, Firefly will deliver 27 of its Miranda engines and nine of its vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile’s first three rockets, and provide the license for AST SpaceMobile to manufacture the engines.
“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 chose to partner with Firefly for its most powerful rocket engines. It's a true win-win for both companies: AST SpaceMobile gets control of its own launch schedule, and Firefly gets added funds to rapidly expand our rocket production and reinforce the supply of launch vehicles to address record demand from the industry.”
Firefly’s Miranda engine has performed over 175 hot fire tests for more than 4,200 seconds, including a flight-like test at
Both headquartered in Texas, Firefly and AST SpaceMobile have complementary business portfolios and missions, and the agreement is non-competitive by design. Firefly retains full ownership of its engine intellectual property and will continue to serve the broader government and commercial launch market.
“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,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “We’re proud to partner with Firefly as a company that has demonstrated repeated launch success to orbit and completed the first and only successful commercial Moon landing.”
Under the terms of the agreements, AST SpaceMobile will pay Firefly more than
The influx of funds allows Firefly to quickly expand hiring, procure long-lead materials, source optimal equipment, and fortify infrastructure, including multiple new test bays in Briggs, Texas, to increase its own launch vehicle production and testing. The added engineering capacity further allows Firefly to accelerate key milestones across its core programs and broader technology roadmap.
“The agreement supercharges Firefly’s production system — more test bays at our Rocket Ranch, long-lead materials bought ahead, and a bigger team of engineers and technicians,” said Kim. “This allows us to build and test faster across our launch portfolio, with safety, quality, and reliability built in.”
Investor Presentation and Webcast on November 10
For additional information, Firefly will discuss this agreement during our upcoming Third Quarter 2026 Earnings call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.
*Miranda engine firing at full power at Firefly’s Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas; Credit: Firefly Aerospace
About Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for responsive space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with approximately 24-hour notice and the first to achieve a successful landing on the Moon. Established in 2017, Firefly’s engineering, manufacturing, and test facilities are co-located in central Texas to enable rapid innovation and vertical integration for the company’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles. For more information, visit www.fireflyspace.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) concerning Firefly. Statements included in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, prospects, assumptions or future events or performance, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “advance,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “should,” "target," “will,” “would,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. In particular, our statements about our expectation with respect to the rocket engine deal with AST and the collaboration thereunder are forward-looking statements. Various risks that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements included in this press release include, but are not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary from the estimates provided. We undertake no intent or obligation to publicly update or revise any of the estimates and other forward-looking statements made in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Media Contact
press@fireflyspace.com
Investor Contact
investors@fireflyspace.com
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5b1ff6ae-b5cd-40ee-a81c-8886ba1e65a3
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e79fd11-a459-46fe-a41e-6d977c812e79
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What does Firefly’s agreement with AST SpaceMobile cover?
The three-year agreement worth more than $1.3 billion covers 36 rocket engines, a license to manufacture the engines and engineering support. Firefly will supply 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST SpaceMobile’s first three heavy-lift rockets.
How will AST SpaceMobile pay Firefly for the rocket engine agreement?
AST SpaceMobile will pay Firefly in cash and AST Class A common stock. The stock consideration is subject to various lock-up periods.