ISROs LVM3-M6 rocket successfully deploys BlueBird Satellite

At 08:55 hours IST on 24 December 2025, the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) M6 flight lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at India's spaceport on the barrier island of Sriharikota. The only passenger on board was the 6,100 kg BlueBird 6 satellite, the first in the second-generation 'Block 2' satellites. 15 minutes later, the satellite was precisely injected into its intended orbit. This was the heaviest satellite launched from Indian soil, the third commercial flight of the LVM3, the ninth successful successive flight of the LVM3, and the first commercial mission for a customer from the USA. This was also the 100th orbital launch by India. 

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said, "I am extremely happy to announce that LVM3 ‘Baahubali’ rocket, M6 launch vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the BlueBird Block 2 communication satellite in the intended orbit. This is the first dedicated commercial launch for a customer from USA, that is AST SpaceMobile. Let me congratulate New Space India Limited (NSIL), the launch vehicle teams of the Department of Space (DoS), and the satellite project team of AST SpaceMobile on this outstanding achievement and contribution for the global community. This is our 104th launch from Sriharikota, also the ninth successful successive mission of the LVM3 launch vehicle, demonstrating its 100 per cent reliability.”

Mark McLaren, SVP of Program Management APAC gateways and launch operations at ASTSpaceMobile said "Thank you very much to ISRO and NSIL for their excellent performance, cooperation during this campaign. It has been a pleasure to be here and everyone has been very good and very helpful, and we are very glad to see our spacecraft finally in orbit, and thank you for an excellent ride." AST SpaceMobile aims to deploy between 45 and 60 BlueBird satellites by the end of 2026, and is aiming to launch five missions by the end of the first quarter of next year, with flights scheduled on the Blue Origin New Glenn as well as the SpaceX Falcon 9.