BIG boost for India: ISRO successfully launches LVM3-M6 rocket, here’s everything you need to know about the BlueBird Block-2 mission

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 communications satellite of US-based AST SpaceMobile. The satellite was successfully placed in orbit and the mission was declared successful.

The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 8:55 am IST.

The mission will deploy the next-generation communications satellite designed to deliver high-speed mobile broadband directly to smartphones around the world. The BlueBird Block-2 spacecraft would be the heaviest payload launched into low Earth orbit in the history of the LVM3 rocket.

ISRO stated that the LVM3-M6/BlueBird Block-2 mission is a special commercial mission on board the LVM3 launch vehicle, which will launch the BlueBird Block-2 communications satellite of AST SpaceMobile, USA. This mission marks LVM3’s sixth operational flight.

In this mission, LVM3-M6 will deploy the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into Low Earth Orbit, the largest commercial communications satellite deployed in Low Earth Orbit. It will also be the heaviest payload to be launched by LVM3 from Indian soil.

LVM3, developed by ISRO, is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110) and a cryogenic upper stage (C25). It has a take-off mass of 640 tons, a height of 43.5 meters and a payload of 4,200 kg in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

In its previous missions, LVM3 successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and two OneWeb missions with 72 satellites. The previous launch of LVM3 was the LVM3-M5/CMS-03 mission, which was successfully completed on November 2 this year.

AST SpaceMobile is building, according to its website, the first and only space-based mobile broadband network directly accessible to everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications.

According to AST SpaceMobile, the BlueBird satellites will deliver broadband directly to standard smartphones without specialized hardware or phone modifications, allowing users to make video calls, surf the web and use 4G and 5G internet speeds anywhere in the world.