Washington

Abel Avellan welcomed India’s successful launch of BlueBird 6, calling it historic for global space communications. Avellan, founder and chief executive of AST SpaceMobile, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ISRO and NewSpace India Limited for the achievement. In a post on X, he described BlueBird 6 as the largest commercial communications satellite placed in low Earth orbit. He said teams in India and the United States showed perfect coordination during the mission. Avellan added that BlueBird 6 was being controlled from the company’s Washington command centre with normal data flow.

The satellite was launched aboard India’s LVM3-M6 rocket from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The heavy-lift vehicle carried the heaviest payload ever launched by an Indian rocket. The mission aims to offer direct mobile broadband connectivity from space without special ground equipment. The 43.5-metre-tall rocket lifted off after a brief delay caused by space debris checks. About 15 minutes later, the satellite separated and entered low Earth orbit at 520 kilometres.

ISRO chief V Narayanan said the mission showed the excellent performance of LVM3. He noted it was the third fully commercial mission of the launch vehicle. Prime Minister Modi praised the launch as a proud milestone for India’s growing space sector. He said it strengthened India’s heavy-lift capability and role in the global launch market.

BlueBird 6 is part of a new generation of satellites enabling space-based cellular services. The mission is being carried out under a commercial agreement between NSIL and AST SpaceMobile. ISRO said such launches highlight India’s reliable position in the global commercial space industry. Officials expect more international missions as demand for affordable launches increases.