ISRO will launch the US ‘Blue Bird Block-2’ communication satellite

ISRO will launch the United States’ AST SpaceMobile Blue Bird Block-2 communication satellite. This launch will take place on 24 December at 8:54 am using the LVM3-M6 rocket.

• ISRO will launch the United States’ AST SpaceMobile Blue Bird Block-2 communication satellite on 24 December at 8:54 am using the LVM3-M6 rocket.
• This sixth operational flight of LVM3 is a dedicated commercial mission that will place the satellite into Low Earth Orbit.
• Blue Bird Block-2 will be the largest commercial communication satellite in LEO and the heaviest payload launched by LVM3 from India, weighing 6,100 kilograms.
• The previous heaviest payload was the LVM3-M5 Communication Satellite 03, which weighed approximately 4,400 kilograms and was successfully launched by ISRO on 2 November.

Blue Bird Block-2

• This satellite is part of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation system that will provide direct cellular broadband connectivity to standard smartphones without any special hardware.
• AST SpaceMobile launched five satellites, Blue Bird 1-5, in September 2024, which provide continuous internet coverage across the entire United States and other selected countries.
• Its objective is to provide global 4G/5G connectivity, enabling calls, web access and video services directly from space. LVM3 is a three-stage launch vehicle developed by ISRO and has previously launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and OneWeb missions.
• This mission is being carried out under a commercial agreement between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and the US company AST SpaceMobile (AST and Science, LLC). NewSpace India Limited is the commercial arm of ISRO.
• Before the launch, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan performed prayers at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala on 23 December, 2025.

LVM3-M6 rocket

• LVM3 is ISRO’s most powerful, heavy-lift, three-stage launch vehicle, earlier known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III (GSLV Mk III).
• Its first experimental flight took place in December, 2014 and it is capable of launching payloads of up to 4,000 kilograms into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• According to the Indian space agency, it is a 43.5-meter-long, three-stage rocket equipped with a cryogenic engine designed and developed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
• The vehicle uses two S200 solid rocket boosters to provide the heavy thrust required for lift-off. These boosters were developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
• In previous missions, the LVM3 rocket has successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and two OneWeb missions carrying 72 satellites.