Sriharikota, 24 Dec

In a landmark Christmas Eve mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched the heaviest satellite ever from Indian soil, reinforcing India’s credentials as a reliable global launch service provider.

ISRO’s heavy-lift rocket LVM3-M6, nicknamed ‘Bahubali’, placed the 6,100-kg BlueBird Block-2 US communication satellite into its intended Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in what the space agency described as a textbook launch. The mission was carried out as part of a commercial agreement between ISRO’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and US-based AST SpaceMobile.

The 43.5-metre-tall launch vehicle lifted off at 8.55 am from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, following a 24-hour countdown. About 15 minutes into the flight, the satellite separated successfully from the rocket, triggering cheers in the Mission Control Centre.

BlueBird Block-2 is part of a next-generation LEO constellation designed to provide direct-to-mobile satellite connectivity, enabling 4G and 5G voice, video calls, messaging, streaming, and data services globally.

Confirming the mission’s success, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said, "I am extremely happy to say that the LVM3M6 Bahubali rocket has successfully placed the Bluebird Block-2 satellite into the intended orbit. Let me congratulate NewSpace India and AST Space Mobile on the outstanding achievement."

The satellite was injected into a 518-km circular orbit against the planned 520-km altitude, which Narayanan described as a “textbook launch”. He noted that the LVM3 rocket has now demonstrated a 100 per cent success rate.

Weighing 6,100 kg, BlueBird Block-2 is the heaviest payload placed into LEO in the LVM3 launch history from Indian soil. The earlier record was held by the LVM3-M5 mission, which launched a 4,400-kg communication satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit on 2 November.

Narayanan said this was also the first time ISRO had launched two LVM3 missions within a span of just 52 days. Addressing the mission team, he said the launch marked one of the finest performances of any Indian rocket and took India’s total satellite launches to 434 for 34 countries.

"The reward for hard work is more work, and we have a lot of programmes on hand," he remarked.

Calling the mission a festive milestone, Narayanan hailed the launch as a "New Year and Christmas gift to Bharat."

Emphasising the precision achieved, he said, "We targeted a 520 km circular orbit. We have placed the satellite at 518.5 km altitude, which is 1.5 km less than the target." He added, "It is one of the best launches made anywhere in the world. And this is the best accuracy so far achieved from the Indian launchers also."

The LVM3-M6, also known as GSLV Mk-III, is a three-stage rocket powered by two S200 solid strap-on boosters and a cryogenic upper stage, developed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. The mission marks the sixth operational flight of LVM3 and its third dedicated commercial launch.