Sriharikota, December 24 (IANS). Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) achieved a historic achievement on Wednesday. ISRO’s LVM3-M6 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota successfully placed American company AST Spacemobile’s Blue Bird Block-2 satellite into ‘Low Earth Orbit’ (LEO).
This is the heaviest payload (6,100 kg) ever carried in the history of the LVM3 rocket. The launch took place at 8:54 am IST from the second launch pad. This rocket, 43.5 meters high and weighing 640 tonnes, released the satellite in a circular orbit with 53 degrees inclination at an altitude of 520 kilometers after a flight of about 15 minutes.
This is the sixth flight of ISRO’s LVM3 series with 100 per cent success, which has previously launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and 72 satellites of OneWeb. This mission is part of a dedicated commercial deal through NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). AST Spacemobile is building the world’s first space-based cellular broadband network that will deliver 4G/5G voice, video calls, messaging, streaming and Internet data directly to ordinary smartphones.
This satellite is the first of the Blue Bird Block-2 series, featuring a large phased array of 223 square meters, the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in LEO. The company has previously launched Blue Bird 1-5 in September 2024, offering coverage in the US and select countries. The Block-2 satellites will provide 10 times more bandwidth and are addressing the worldwide connectivity gap (approximately 6 billion mobile users). With this, this gap in mountains, oceans and deserts can also be closed.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan offered prayers at the Tirumala temple before the launch. This mission strengthens India’s commercial space launch capability globally. AST Spacemobile has partnered with more than 50 mobile operators.
–IANS
SCH/AS
