AST SpaceMobile outlines rocket plan to address launch shortage

AST SpaceMobile chief executive Abel Avellan outlined plans Thursday to develop the Blacklift rocket to launch the company's Bluebird satellites, Ars Technica reported. He said the telecommunications company has already procured engines for the proposed vehicle. Avellan said AST cannot secure enough launches to meet demand for its satellites, which provide direct-to-cell capability from an orbit about 550km above Earth. He argued that engine development accounts for 80 percent of a typical rocket's development cycle and emphasized a simplified design using composite tanks. Ars Technica's account questioned his assessment of the remaining engineering challenge.