ISRO is preparing to launch the LVM3 rocket on its last mission of 2025. The heavy lift launch vehicle is scheduled to liftoff at 8:54 am IST on December 24 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota with AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 6 broadband satellite.
The LVM3-M6 mission will mark the sixth flight of the LVM3 rocket which has previously launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, two satellite launches for OneWeb and most recently, the CMS-03 mission for the Indian Navy.
🚀 LVM3-M6 Mission Launch Scheduled
The launch of LVM3-M6 is scheduled on 24 December 2025 at 08:54 hrs IST from the Second Launch Pad (SLP), SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
👀 The public can witness the launch from the Launch View Gallery, SDSC SHAR by registering online:
👉… pic.twitter.com/DXJ9JsFAhM— ISRO (@isro) December 19, 2025
On Saturday, ISRO shared a picture of the LVM3 rocket ready at the launch pad. The BlueBird 6 satellite was encapsulated in the rocket’s fairing on December 6.
“In this mission, LVM3-M6 will place the BlueBird Block-2 satellite, into the Low Earth Orbit and is the largest commercial communications satellite to be deployed in Low Earth Orbit. It will also be the heaviest payload to be launched by LVM3 from Indian soil,” ISRO said in a statement. “The satellite is part of a next generation of BlueBird Block-2 communication satellites, designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard mobile smartphones.”
ISRO’s BlueBird 6 satellite mission
The BlueBird 6 satellite is the sixth and the biggest of the BlueBird series. According to AST SpaceMobile, it features the largest commercial phased array at around 2,400 square feet and is 3.5 times bigger than BlueBirds 1 to 5.
The countdown begins! BlueBird 6 is planned to launch on December 23, 2025 at 10:24 p.m. EST.
The mission marks the start of our next phase of execution, with a launch planned every 45 days on average during 2026, as we continue building space-based cellular broadband… pic.twitter.com/iMZ1pMTJEF
— AST SpaceMobile (@AST_SpaceMobile) December 19, 2025
In an X post, the company shared a picture of the LVM3 rocket with its plans to expand its space-based cellular broadband network. “The mission marks the start of our next phase of execution, with a launch planned every 45 days on average during 2026, as we continue building space-based cellular broadband connectivity for all,” AST SpaceMobile said.
It has also planned to complete five launches by end of March 2026 using other launchers like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Blue Origin’s brand new rocket New Glenn.
AST SpaceMobile will offer direct internet connectivity to normal smartphones without the requirement of terminals or satellite dishes like SpaceX’s Starlink network. Starlink currently has the largest network of internet satellites (nearly 9,000). It’s different than AST’s network in that Starlink users need terminals to access the internet whereas the latter can provide nationwide mobile coverage via government and mobile networks.
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