BENGALURU: One of the heaviest commercial satellites, BlueBird-6, weighing 6.5 tonnes, arrived in India from the United States on October 19. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on its LVM3 rocket, though the launch date is yet to be confirmed.
The mission, led by AST SpaceMobile, a Texas-based telecom company, is scheduled for launch between November 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The company aims to provide direct-to-device mobile broadband connectivity, bridging the digital divide in regions with poor terrestrial networks.
The satellite was transported onboard the Antonov, the world’s largest cargo aircraft, originally built in Ukraine. It was flown to Chennai and later transported by road to Sriharikota for integration, fuelling, and pre-launch checks.
Experts said the next-generation communication satellite will be launched on India’s most powerful rocket, marking a key milestone for ISRO’s commercial operations. The launch is being handled by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, which earns revenue for the government through international launch contracts.
AST SpaceMobile plans to deploy a series of satellites in the coming months, with BlueBird-7 to BlueBird-16 in various stages of production and launches scheduled every 1–2 months between 2025 and 2026. Each satellite is capable of delivering up to 10,000 MHz of bandwidth, the company said.