The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite of the United States’ AST SpaceMobile. The satellite was successfully placed into orbit, and the mission was declared a success.
The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 8:55 AM IST.
The mission aims to deploy a next-generation communication satellite designed to provide high-speed cellular broadband directly to smartphones worldwide. The BlueBird Block-2 spacecraft is the heaviest payload ever launched into Low Earth Orbit in the history of the LVM3 rocket.
ISRO stated that the LVM3-M6/BlueBird Block-2 Mission is a dedicated commercial mission onboard the LVM3 launch vehicle and marks the sixth operational flight of LVM3, carrying the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite for AST SpaceMobile, USA.
In this mission, LVM3-M6 placed the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The satellite is the largest commercial communications satellite to be deployed in LEO and the heaviest payload ever launched by LVM3 from Indian soil.
LVM3, developed by ISRO, is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid strap-on boosters (S200), a liquid core stage (L110), and a cryogenic upper stage (C25). It has a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes, a height of 43.5 meters, and a payload capacity of 4,200 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
In previous missions, LVM3 successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, and two OneWeb missions carrying 72 satellites. Its most recent launch before this mission was the LVM3-M5/CMS-03 mission, successfully accomplished on November 2, 2025.
AST SpaceMobile, as per its website, is building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard smartphones for both commercial and government applications. According to the company, the BlueBird satellites provide broadband directly to everyday smartphones without requiring specialized hardware or phone modifications, enabling users to make video calls, browse the internet, and access 4G and 5G speeds from anywhere on Earth.
