Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Tuesday successfully launched its heaviest-ever satellite, BlueBird Block-2, weighing 6,100 kg, marking a major milestone in India’s commercial space capabilities.
The satellite was placed into Low Earth Orbit by the LVM3-M6 launch vehicle in a dedicated commercial mission for AST SpaceMobile, a US-based company. BlueBird Block-2 is the largest commercial communications satellite deployed in Low Earth Orbit to date and is part of a next-generation constellation designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard mobile smartphones.
The mission marked the sixth operational flight of the LVM3 launch vehicle. Developed by ISRO, LVM3 is a three-stage heavy-lift rocket comprising two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110), and a cryogenic upper stage (C25).
With this successful launch, LVM3 has further strengthened its proven track record. In previous missions, the launch vehicle has deployed Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, and two OneWeb missions that collectively carried 72 satellites into orbit.
The last LVM3 mission prior to this launch was LVM3-M5/CMS-03, which was successfully completed on November 2.
The successful deployment of BlueBird Block-2 underlines ISRO’s growing role in the global commercial launch market and its ability to support advanced satellite missions for international clients.
