Vodafone Idea's CEO Abhijit Kishore announces the launch of BlueBird 6, a satellite broadband partnership with AST SpaceMobile, aiming to connect unconnected regions of India and enable 4G and 5G services directly on smartphones.

With direct-to-smartphone 4G/5G links, a massive LEO payload, and record-breaking launch weight, the mission fuses scale, precision, and next-gen space connectivity.

India has successfully launched the heaviest satellite to ever take off from Indian soil into low Earth orbit, marking a key milestone in the country's space sector. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its LVM3-M6 rocket on Wednesday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in south-eastern India.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications,

India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, highlighted ISRO’s LVM-3 rocket after its successful launch of the BlueBird Block-2 satellite for US-based AST SpaceMobile. In a tweet, Kwatra said the mission demonstrated ISRO’s strong heavy-lift capability and reflected the success of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision in the space sector.

ISRO’s LVM-3 Bluebird launch is being hailed as a turning point for India’s commercial space ambitions. Carrying a 6,100 kg US communication satellite, the mission showcased India’s heavy-lift capability at a fraction of global launch costs.