ISRO’s LVM3 rocket launches largest commercial communication satellite
S&T – SPACE
25 DECEMBER 2025
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) placed the BlueBird Block-2 satellite in a low earth orbit (LEO) on the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- The ISRO accomplished two milestones with this mission as it was able to deploy the largest commercial communications satellite in a low earth orbit, and the BlueBird Block-2 satellite, weighing 6,100 kg, became the heaviest payload to be launched by LVM3 Bahubali rocket M6 launch vehicle from Indian soil.
- This is the first dedicated commercial launch for a customer from the U.S.
- The BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite, developed by AST SpaceMobile in the U.S., is part of a next generation of the communication satellites, designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard mobile smartphones.
