India Launches Giant Satellite for Mobile Connectivity

India's LVM3 rocket successfully executed its sixth operational flight on Wednesday, placing the US communications satellite BlueBird Block-2 into low Earth orbit. This mission marked the heaviest payload ever lifted by the LVM3, weighing 6100kg.

The launch from Sriharikota injected the satellite into a circular orbit approximately 520km high. This mission was a commercial endeavor between NewSpace India Limited and US-based AST & Science LLC. The satellite is part of a constellation targeting global direct-to-mobile connectivity.

BlueBird Block-2 features a massive 223 square metre phased-array antenna, the largest for a commercial satellite in low Earth orbit. It is engineered to support 4G and 5G voice, video calls, and data services directly on standard mobile phones.