India is gearing up for another major milestone in its commercial space journey as ISRO prepares to launch BlueBird-6, the largest US commercial communication satellite destined for low-earth orbit. The launch is scheduled for December 15 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, marking a significant collaboration between India’s space program and the American satellite communication industry.
The mission centers around BlueBird-6, developed by AST SpaceMobile Inc, a Texas-based company expanding its global satellite-powered cellular broadband network. Announcing the launch plans, the company highlighted that the satellite is the first in its next-generation series, equipped with transformative communication technology. Once in orbit, BlueBird-6 will deploy an extraordinary 2,400-square-foot phased-array antenna, making it the largest commercial antenna ever placed in low-earth orbit. This new hardware is 3.5 times larger than antennas on previous BlueBird satellites and offers ten times more data-handling capacity, marking a huge leap forward for space-based mobile services.
The satellite will be carried by ISRO’s LVM3, the agency’s most powerful launch vehicle, often referred to as “Bahubali” for its heavy-lift capabilities. The mission is being managed by New Space India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial division responsible for handling international launch partnerships and generating revenue for the government through global contracts. Earlier this month, the same rocket successfully deployed India’s heaviest CMS-3 satellite, proving its reliability for high-mass missions.
BlueBird-6, weighing 6.5 tonnes, arrived in India on October 19 after being transported from the United States. It was moved by road to Sriharikota for integration with the LVM3 launcher, followed by fueling operations and technical inspections in preparation for the December launch.
The ambitious mission aims to bring direct-to-device mobile broadband to underserved regions around the world, especially where ground-based infrastructure is weak or absent. With this flight, AST SpaceMobile becomes the second global satellite broadband provider to fly on LVM3, following Eutelsat OneWeb. The step reinforces India’s growing position as a competitive, dependable launch partner in the global space industry.
LVM3, a 45.5-meter-tall, three-stage heavy-lift vehicle with a 640-tonne lift-off mass, is engineered to place large spacecraft into orbits around 600 kilometers above Earth. Its capability makes it the ideal choice for large commercial satellite deployments like BlueBird-6, which are expected to shape the future of global mobile communication.
