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India launches US heavy communications satellite into space on its rocket

According to ISRO chief V. Narayanan, it was the heaviest satellite ever launched on an Indian rocket

NEW DELHI, December 24. /TASS/. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the US commercial communications satellite BlueBird Block-2 into low Earth orbit, according to a broadcast.

India's most powerful carrier rocket, the LVM3, brought the satellite into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. "I am pleased to announce that the LVM3 rocket has successfully and accurately placed the BlueBird satellite into orbit," ISRO chief V. Narayanan said at a briefing after the launch. "This is the heaviest satellite ever launched on an Indian rocket," he added.

The BlueBird communications satellite was developed by the US company AST SpaceMobile. It weighs 6.5 tons. It arrived in India from the US on October 19.

The BlueBird launch is the second example of cooperation between the US and ISRO. In July, ISRO successfully launched the $1.5 billion NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, which can obtain high-quality images of Earth and penetrate fog, dense clouds, and ice layers.

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