AST SpaceMobile announced on Nov. 6, 2026, that it's developing a new rocket called Blacklift. First flight of the vehicle is targeted for 2028. (Image credit: AST SpaceMobile)

Another new private rocket is in the works.

AST SpaceMobile announced today (Nov. 6) that it's building a reusable rocket called Blacklift to launch its broadband satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), with first flight targeted in 2028.

The news comes just 10 days after Cowboy Space unveiled Big Iron , a rocket designed to launch its constellation of 20,000 AI data centers . Cowboy Space is also targeting 2028 for its first liftoff.

"The Blacklift rocket is the springboard to significantly expand our total addressable market, providing AST SpaceMobile with regular unconstrained access to orbit and providing for most favorable owners’ economics in the industry," Abel Avellan, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement today .

"This will accelerate our mission to build a new layer of global connectivity, extending…