The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched BlueBird-6, the heaviest satellite yet, aboard its 'Baahubali' Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)-M6 rocket on Wednesday.
BlueBird-6, a next-generation communications satellite from US innovator AST SpaceMobile, lifted off at 8:55 a.m., following a 24-hour countdown from the second launch pad located approximately 135 km east of Chennai.
After a flight journey of about 15 minutes, the spacecraft BlueBird Block-2, riding piggyback on the rocket, got separated and reached its intended orbit at an altitude of about 520 km.
This is the second collaboration between the US and ISRO for satellites this year. In July, the ISRO successfully launched the $1.5 billion NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission (NISAR), aimed at taking high-resolution Earth scans with a capacity to penetrate through fogs, dense clouds, and ice layers.
"I am extremely happy to announce that LVM3 Bahubali rocket M6 launch vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the Bluebird Block-2 communication satellite in the intended orbit," said ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan, from Sriharikota.
“This is our 104th launch from Sriharikota. Also, the successful mission of the LVM3 launch vehicle demonstrated its 100 per cent reliability. As all of you may recall, we had the LVM3 launch just last month, on November 2. This is also the first time we have a back-to-back mission of LVM3 within just 52 days. It's a great achievement,” he added.
BlueBird 6, weighing 6,100 kg, is the heaviest payload to be placed into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in LVM3 launch history.
The previous heaviest was the LVM3-M5 Communication Satellite 03, weighing about 4,400 kg, which was successfully launched by ISRO on November 2 in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
The communication satellite is part of the next generation of BlueBird Block-2 communication satellites, designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard mobile smartphones.
AST SpaceMobile has already launched five satellites -- BlueBird 1 to 5 -- in September 2024. With an aim to expand this network further, the company has partnered with more than 50 mobile operators worldwide.
The mission also marks the sixth operational flight of the LVM3 launch vehicle. It also represents a significant leap in telecommunications technology, as the massive 6,100 kg payload is designed to provide high-speed 4G and 5G connectivity directly to smartphones.
LVM3, developed by ISRO, is a three-stage launch vehicle comprising two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110), and a cryogenic upper stage (C25).
The mission is part of a commercial agreement established between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial division of ISRO, and the US-based company AST SpaceMobile (AST and Science, LLC).
In its earlier missions, LVM3 successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, and two OneWeb missions carrying 72 satellites.