India's space agency, ISRO, achieved a historic milestone on 24 December 2025 with the successful launch of the LVM3-M6 rocket, dubbed 'Baahubali', from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The mission carried BlueBird-6, also known as BlueBird Block-2, a next-generation communications satellite developed by US-based AST SpaceMobile, weighing around 6,100 kg.

AST SpaceMobile's CEO, Abel Avellan, hailed it as the "largest-ever commercial communications satellite in low Earth orbit," featuring a massive phased-array antenna spanning nearly 2,400 square feet (223 square metres)—over three times larger than the company's prior BlueBird satellites and boasting ten times the capacity.

Built in Midland, Texas, the spacecraft now operates under nominal telemetry from AST's Washington D.C. command centre, enabling direct-to-smartphone broadband with peak speeds up to 120 Mbps for voice, data, video, and 4G/5G services without specialised equipment.

Avellan extended congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ISRO, and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for what he termed a flawless execution by teams in both nations.
Executed under a commercial agreement between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm, and AST SpaceMobile, the launch demonstrated flawless Indo-US coordination. Dr V Narayanan, ISRO Chairman, praised the "precise" orbital insertion after 15 minutes of flight, calling it one of the finest performances by any global launch vehicle and the third fully commercial LVM-3 mission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the feat as a "proud milestone" bolstering India's heavy-lift capabilities and global commercial launch market presence.

BlueBird-6 serves as a technology demonstrator for AST SpaceMobile's expanding low Earth orbit constellation, targeting 45 to 60 satellites by end-2026 with launches every one to two months. Operating at around 600 km altitude for near-global coverage, it supports unmodified smartphones, bridging digital divides for commercial and governmental uses. The satellite's deployment advances space-based cellular broadband, eliminating reliance on ground infrastructure.

Post-deployment, AST SpaceMobile confirmed full control of BlueBird 6 from its Washington D.C. command centre, reporting nominal telemetry across all systems. The satellite now awaits unfurling of its record-breaking array, poised to pioneer space-based cellular broadband for commercial and government applications.

How LVM-3 Compares To Other Heavy Lift Rockets Globally

RocketLEO (kg)GTO (kg)ReusabilityNotable Feature
LVM-3 ​8,0004,000-4,200NoCost-effective, 100% indigenous
Falcon Heavy ​63,80026,700PartialHigh cadence, commercial focus
Long March-5​~25,000~14,000NoHeavy national payloads
Ariane-6 ​21,90011,500NoEuropean commercial versatility
SLS Block-1 ​95,000~27,000 (TLI)NoCrewed lunar missions
TLI-(Trans-Lunar Injection)

Globally, LVM-3 occupies the lower end of heavy-lift capabilities compared to giants like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which hauls 63,800 kg to LEO and 26,700kg to GTO using reusable boosters for cost efficiency.

China's Long March-5 dwarfs it with around 25,000 kg to LEO and 14,000 kg to GTO, while Europe's Ariane-6 targets 21,900 kg to LEO and 11,500 kg to GTO for commercial dual launches. NASA's SLS Block-1, designed for crewed deep space, lifts 95,000 kg to LEO, far surpassing LVM-3's scale but at vastly higher costs.

LVM-3 excels in reliability and economy, with a near-perfect success rate since 2014, including Chandrayaan missions and OneWeb deployments totalling over 5,700 kg payloads. Its per-kilogram cost to GTO remains competitive against Western rivals, aided by indigenous tech and no reusability yet, though ISRO plans a reusable Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) for enhanced capacity. This positions LVM-3 ideally for emerging markets like direct-to-phone satellite broadband, as seen in the BlueBird-6 launch.
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IDN (With Agency Inputs)