What happened:
On December 23, 2025, ISRO announced that the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite of US-based AST SpaceMobile will be launched on December 24 aboard the LVM3-M6 rocket. The mission marks the sixth operational flight of LVM3 and will deploy the heaviest commercial payload launched by India into Low Earth Orbit.
Why it matters to India:
The mission strengthens India’s position as a reliable global launch service provider, boosts commercial space cooperation with the US, and showcases ISRO’s heavy-lift launch capabilities in the growing low-Earth-orbit communications market.