India’s LVM3 Rocket To Orbit Block 2 BlueBird Satellite In May

India’s LVM3 rocket will orbit the Block 2 BlueBird satellite of the US based cellular broadband network player AST SpaceMobile soon, said a top official of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL).

The NSIL is the commercial arm of Indian government’s Department of Space.

“The LVM3 rocket is slated to orbit one Block 2 BlueBird satellite of AST SpaceMobile weighing about six ton into Low Earth Orbit. The launch is expected to happen in May this year,” D.Radhakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director told this writer.

AST SpaceMobile will be the second satellite broadband customer using the LVM3 rocket.

The first one was Eutelsat OneWeb, which launched a total of 72 satellites with two LVM3 rockets in 2022 and 2023.

When pointed out that AST SpaceMobile will be launching more than 50 satellites Radhakrishnan said: “We are also in discussions for future launches. We will first launch one satellite,” Radhakrishnan added.

Broadband Direct To Device From Space

According to AST SpaceMobile, it is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to offer broadband connectivity direct to mobile devices based on its intellectual property and patent portfolio.

The company plans to have a constellation of over 50 satellites to be launched by various rockets.

In a business update AST SpaceMobile early this month had said: “Accelerated satellite manufacturing with planning and production of 40 Block 2 BlueBird satellites underway at AST SpaceMobile manufacturing facilities in Midland, Texas.”

“Additionally, accelerated the procurement of components and materials needed to complete fully assembled microns and phased array for over 50 satellites in total,” AST SpaceMobile said.

The US company also said it has exercised option for additional orbital launches, with full contracted launch capacity now for approximately 60 satellites during 2025 and 2026.

The company also completed bring-up and initial validation of novel ASIC, a custom, low-power chip designed to support up to 10,000 MHz in processing bandwidth per satellite with peak data transmissions speeds of up to 120 Mbps.

“Block 2 BlueBird satellites span an unprecedented 2,400 square feet, more than 3x larger than the first five BlueBird satellites in orbit today,” AST SpaceMobile added.

ISRO Gearing Up For More LVM3 Commercial Launches

Be that as it may, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready its LVM3 rocket to orbit Block 2 BlueBird satellite.

On 15th March 2025 ISRO Chairman Dr.V.Narayanan flagged off the Cryogenic Upper Stage of LVM3 rocket from the ISRO Propulsion Complex in the state of Tamil Nadu in India.

The stage is powered by the indigenous high thrust Cryogenic Engine (CE20) with a propellant loading of 28.5 tons.

According to NSIL’s Radhakrishnan, the company has signed up contracts for other Indian rockets – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for 2026-27 and for Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) with Space Machines Company, an Australian-Indian in-space servicing firm.

The SSLV rocket will orbit Space Machines Company’s second Optimus spacecraft weighing 450kg, the largest Australian-designed and built spacecraft so far. According to NSIL, the proposed mission will mark a defining moment for both nations in the area of space collaboration.