Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sets Dec 24 as the launch date for the Nasdaq-listed cellular broadband company AST SpaceMobile Inc’s 6.5 ton BlueBird 6 satellite by its LVM3 rocket.

Earlier, the company had announced that its second generation BlueBird satellite will be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on December 15, 2025. The launch was postponed to Dec 21-a date that was reported widely and not denied by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

At 6.5 ton BlueBird 6 will be the heaviest satellite ever placed into LEO by the LVM3, which currently boasts a 100% launch success rate. BlueBird 6 marks the debut of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation satellite fleet. Once deployed, it will feature the largest commercial phased array in LEO, spanning nearly 2,400 sq ft—a 3.5× increase over its predecessors, BlueBirds 1–5 and delivering 10× more data capacity, the company said.

AST SpaceMobile is developing what it calls the world’s first and only space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly to everyday smartphones for commercial and government users. "Our next-generation satellites will soon enable ubiquitous cellular broadband coverage direct to everyday smartphones from space," Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile had said earlier.

"As an American company, we are proud to demonstrate US leadership in space innovation while pioneering the next era of global connectivity,” Avellan said. The company is accelerating production, with hardware equivalent to 40 satellites expected to be completed by early 2026. It anticipates five orbital launches by the end of Q1 2026-all expected to be launched by SpaceX rockets.

With satellite launches spaced one to two months apart, aiming for 45–60 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026 to enable continuous coverage across the US and select markets, AST SpaceMobile had said. AST SpaceMobile’s rapid expansion is supported by nearly 500,000 sq ft of manufacturing and operations facilities worldwide—about 400,000 sq ft of which are in the U.S.—and a global workforce of nearly 1,800 employees, most based in the United States.

The BlueBird 6 launch contract was arranged through NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of India’s Department of Space. AST SpaceMobile will become the second satellite broadband customer to fly on LVM3, after Eutelsat OneWeb, which launched 72 satellites using two LVM3 missions in 2022 and 2023.

India’s LVM3 is a three-stage heavy-lift vehicle weighing about 642 tons and standing 43.5 meters tall. It can carry approximately 4 tons to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10 tons to LEO, with ISRO actively working to raise its GTO capacity to 5 tons.