India’s LVM3 rocket’s 9th consecutive success, & 2nd launch in 52 days, places AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 6 into 520-km orbit

by Peter B. de Selding

LA PLATA, Maryland — The successful Dec. 24 launch of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 6 satellite aboard India’s LVM3 heavy-lift rocket set leu milestones both for direct-to-device operator AST and for the Indian launch program.

BlueBird 6 is the first of the Block 2 Bluebirds, which offer 10 times the throughput of the previous five Gen 1 satellites and are triple the size of the earlier satellites.

BlueBird 6 weighed about 6,100 kilograms at launch and carries a phased array antenna that, when . . .

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