ISRO BlueBird Block-2 Launch: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite for US-based company AST SpaceMobile. The satellite was placed into orbit as planned, and ISRO confirmed that the mission was successful. The launch took place at 8:55 am IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The mission aims to roll out a next-generation communication satellite that can deliver high-speed mobile internet directly to smartphones across the world. The BlueBird Block-2 satellite is also the heaviest payload ever carried to low Earth orbit by ISRO’s LVM3 rocket.
What is ISRO’s BlueBird Mission?
ISRO has stated that the LVM3-M6/BlueBird Block-2 mission is a special commercial launch using the LVM3 rocket. The mission is meant to place the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite of US company AST SpaceMobile into space. This is the sixth operational flight of the LVM3 launch vehicle.
During this mission, LVM3-M6 will carry the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into low Earth orbit. It is worth noting here that the BlueBird is the largest commercial communication satellite to be deployed in this orbit and also the heaviest payload ever launched by LVM3 from India.
The LVM3 rocket, developed by ISRO, has three stages. It uses two solid strap-on boosters, a liquid core stage, and a cryogenic upper stage. The rocket weighs 640 tonnes at lift-off, stands 43.5 metres tall, and can carry up to 4,200 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
In earlier missions, LVM3 has successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and two OneWeb missions that together carried 72 satellites. Its previous mission, LVM3-M5/CMS-03, was completed successfully on November 2 this year.
Why is this mission significant?
As mentioned above, the BlueBird Block-2 satellite, weighing 6,100 kg, is the heaviest payload ever carried by ISRO’s LVM3 rocket into low Earth orbit. This marks an important achievement for the launch vehicle.
The earlier record was held by the CMS-03 communication satellite, which weighed around 4,400 kg and was sent to geosynchronous transfer orbit on November 2.
The launch is part of a commercial deal between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, and US-based AST SpaceMobile.
AST SpaceMobile said the satellite network will allow 4G and 5G voice and video calls, messaging, data use and broadband internet services for users across the world.
LVM3 had already launched five BlueBird satellites in September 2024 and works with more than 50 mobile operators worldwide.
The LVM3 rocket has also been used for major missions such as Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and two OneWeb launches that carried a total of 72 satellites.