India India achieved a new record in space: the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) launched this morning the heaviest satellite placed in Earth’s orbit from Indian soil.
The LVM3-M6 heavy rocket, popularly called ‘Baahubali’, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota and put into orbit the BlueBird Block-2 / BlueBird 6 communications satellite developed by the American company AST SpaceMobile.
The satellite has a mass of about 6,100 kilograms, making it the heaviest payload ever launched from Indian soil into low Earth orbit — an important benchmark for ISRO’s lift-off and launch capabilities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the mission as a “significant step” in the evolution of the country’s space sector and underlined India’s growing role in the global market for commercial satellite launches.
The satellite will be part of a communications constellation aimed at delivering broadband services directly to mobile phones and other devices, strengthening India’s presence in an increasingly competitive space sector.
