LVM3-M6 Success Strengthens India's Position in Global Commercial Launch Market, Government Tells Parliament

New Delhi: India has significantly strengthened its position in the global commercial launch market following the successful LVM3-M6 mission, the government informed the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply from Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh.

The mission placed the 6,100-kg BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite of US-based AST SpaceMobile into a 520-km Low Earth Orbit — the heaviest payload ever carried by the LVM3 rocket from Indian soil, launched under a commercial contract between ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited and AST SpaceMobile.

The minister said the mission has established LVM3 as one of the preferred launch vehicles in the international commercial launch services market, demonstrating India's technological capabilities and enhancing global confidence in the country's heavy-lift launch capacity.

The BlueBird Block-2 satellite, part of AST SpaceMobile's next-generation direct-to-smartphone connectivity constellation, features the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in low Earth orbit. The government said it continues to pursue international space cooperation to deliver strategic and technological gains for India's space programme.