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NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi connected Wednesday congratulated Isro aft its ‘Bahubali’ rocket LVM-M6 successfully placed US’s new-generation BlueBird Block-2 connection satellite, weighing 6,100 kg, into orbit. It was the heaviest payload to beryllium placed into the debased world orbit (LEO) successful LVM3’s motorboat past -- the erstwhile heaviest was the LVM3-M5 connection outer 03, weighing astir 4,400 kg, that was placed into the geosynchronous transportation orbit (GTO) connected November 2.“A important stride successful India’s abstraction sector. The palmy LVM3-M6 launch, placing the heaviest outer ever launched from Indian soil, the spacecraft of USA, BlueBird Block-2, into its intended orbit, marks a arrogant milestone successful India's abstraction journey," PM Modi said successful a station connected X.The ngo marks the 6th operational formation of the LVM3 motorboat vehicle. It besides represents a important leap successful telecommunications technology, arsenic the US payload is designed to supply high-speed 4G and 5G connectivity straight to smartphones.BlueBird Block-2 is the 2nd important US satellite launch from India this twelvemonth aft the Indo-US associated mission’s NISAR, the world’s costliest (around $1.5 billion) and astir precocious Earth-imaging satellite.
As of precocious Dec 2025, Isro has launched astatine slightest 234 satellites for the US. Since 2015, erstwhile India launched the archetypal commercialized US satellites connected committee PSLV-C30, American satellites marque up the largest information of the full 434 overseas satellites launched by Isro, contributing importantly to the astir $143 cardinal successful overseas speech gross generated by these launches.Space curate Jitendra Singh besides congratulated Isro connected the palmy launch.
"I deliberation it is the infinitesimal of glory for the country. It has been imaginable due to the fact that of the advancement of the past 10 to 12 years (under the PM Narendra Modi-led government). Even though the American satellites were being launched from Sriharikota earlier arsenic well, today's motorboat has demonstrated to the satellite that we person the capableness to motorboat a outer arsenic dense arsenic 6,000 kgs," helium said. Placing a 6-tonne-class outer into LEO is important due to the fact that payload wide has go a cardinal indicator for constellation ratio successful the direct-to-device and hybrid satellite-terrestrial era.
Heavier satellites alteration higher payload consolidation, less orbital assets, simplified phasing, and little per-user costs erstwhile serving mass-market connectivity. From an operator’s perspective, this reduces some superior strength and operational complexity. India’s demonstrated quality to enactment specified missions meaningfully alters however planetary satcom players exemplary constellation architecture, security exposure, and motorboat diversification.Commenting connected the broader significance, Subba Rao, president of Space Industry Association India, said: “This ngo demonstrates that India is present portion of the halfway commercialized LEO deployment landscape. The value lies not lone successful motorboat success, but successful what it signals astir India’s concern readiness, reliability, and quality to enactment constellations astatine standard implicit time. That assurance is what planetary operators yet physique programmes around.
”Several concern units from the Indian backstage manufacture person contributed importantly to LVM3 rocket success. Ananth Technologies Pvt Ltd (ATL), a long-standing spouse of the Indian Space Programme, said, 'It is arrogant to person contributed to this historical mission". "ATL has been intimately associated with the LVM3 programme and has delivered captious formation hardware, avionics systems, electronics, and precision subsystems that play a captious relation successful ngo success," a institution connection said.
