Sriharikota, Dec 23: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to achieve a major milestone in its commercial spaceflight programme as its heavy-lift rocket LVM3 prepares to launch the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite for US-based AST SpaceMobile on December 24.
The mission, designated LVM3-M6/BlueBird Block-2, is scheduled for lift-off at 8:54 am IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
It will place the largest commercial communications satellite ever deployed in low Earth orbit and marks the heaviest payload carried by the LVM3 launch vehicle from Indian soil.
ISRO said the mission is a dedicated commercial flight using the LVM3 rocket and represents its sixth operational mission, further strengthening India’s position in the global commercial launch market.
The BlueBird Block-2 satellite is part of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation constellation aimed at providing space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard smartphones, without the need for specialised hardware or device modifications.
According to the company, the satellite will enable services such as video calling, web browsing, and 4G and 5G connectivity from virtually anywhere on Earth, catering to both commercial and government users.
The LVM3 launch vehicle, developed by ISRO, is a three-stage rocket consisting of two solid strap-on boosters (S200), a liquid-fuelled core stage (L110) and a cryogenic upper stage (C25).
With a lift-off mass of approximately 640 tonnes and a height of 43.5 metres, the rocket can carry payloads of up to 4,200 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
LVM3 has previously carried out several high-profile missions, including Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, and two OneWeb missions that together deployed 72 satellites. Its most recent flight, the LVM3-M5/CMS-03 mission, was successfully completed on November 2 this year.
The upcoming launch, a day ahead of Christmas, is expected to be livestreamed by ISRO and is being closely watched by the global space and telecommunications industry as a significant step towards the integration of satellite technology with everyday mobile communications.
