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6d ago

ISRO’s LVM3-M6 Places BlueBird Block-2 in Orbit, Sets New LEO Payload Mark

Booked by NSIL for AST SpaceMobile, the flight highlights India’s expanding role as a global launch provider.

ISRO's LVM3M6 is set to launch the BlueBird Block-2 spacecraft from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, tomorrow.
At 6,100 kg, this is the heaviest payload to be placed by ISRO’s heavy-lift launch vehicle LVM3.
The launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s satellite LVM3-M6 / BlueBird Block-2 on December 24.
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Overview

  • The rocket lifted off from Sriharikota’s Second Launch Pad at about 08:54–08:55 IST, and the satellite separated roughly 15–16 minutes later into a 518.5 km circular low Earth orbit.
  • At about 6,100 kg, BlueBird Block-2 is the heaviest payload LVM3 has delivered to LEO, surpassing the previous ~4,400 kg benchmark set in November.
  • This was the sixth operational LVM3 mission and the second LVM3 flight in roughly 52 days, reinforcing the vehicle’s reliability and growing cadence.
  • The satellite is part of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation constellation designed to provide 4G/5G voice, messaging and data directly to unmodified smartphones.
  • The spacecraft carries a 223 m² phased-array antenna, described as the largest commercial communications satellite deployed in low Earth orbit, under a dedicated NSIL commercial contract.