Ready to launch US’ BlueBird Block-2 satellite tomorrow: Isro

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Monday said it is ready to launch the BlueBird Block-2 satellite on December 24. The launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Center will place the BlueBird Block-2 satellite, also referred to as BlueBird-6, in Low Earth Orbit. BlueBird communications satellite, developed by the US-based AST SpaceMobile, will be launched on board India’s most powerful rocket LVM3.

It is one of the heaviest commercial satellites, weighing 6.5 tonnes. The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite arrived in India from the US on October 19.

“Meet #LVM3M6 Isro’s operational heavy-lift launch vehicle with a proven record of reliable missions. Ready to deliver BlueBird Block-2 to Low Earth Orbit,” Isro shared in a post on the social media platform X. Earlier, AST SpaceMobile, in a statement, said that “when launched, it will feature the largest commercial phased array in low Earth orbit at nearly 2,400 square feet. This represents a 3.5 times increase in size over BlueBirds 1-5 and supports 10 times the data capacity”.