New Delhi, Dec 24: BlueBird 6, India’s heaviest satellite, was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) aboard the ‘Baahubali’ Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)-M6 rocket on December 24.
The satellite, weighing 6,100 kg, was developed by AST SpaceMobile and aims to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity to smartphones. Launched from a site 135 km east of Chennai at 8:55 a.m., BlueBird Block-2 reached its intended orbit at an altitude of about 520 km after a 15-minute flight.
This mission represents a significant achievement for ISRO, marking the 104th launch from Sriharikota and demonstrating the reliability of the LVM3 launch vehicle, which has completed six operational flights to date.
Notably, BlueBird 6 is part of a commercial agreement between ISRO’s NewSpace India Ltd and AST SpaceMobile, and follows previous successful ISRO missions, including the September launch of five other BlueBird satellites and the $1.5 billion NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission (NISAR) earlier this year.
The LVM3 rocket consists of two solid strap-on motors, a liquid core stage, and a cryogenic upper stage, representing a leap forward in telecommunications technology with capabilities for high-speed 4G and 5G connectivity.
