India's 'Baahubali' Rocket Places Heaviest-Ever Satellite In Orbit

India's ‘Baahubali' rocket, Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)-M6, took off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh this morning with BlueBird 6, a next-gen communications satellite from US innovator AST SpaceMobile. This is the heaviest payload carried by an Indian launcher. The goal is to beam broadband straight from space to ordinary smartphones, no special gear required. 

As the 24-hour countdown concluded, the 43.5 metre tall rocket supported by two S200 solid boosters lifted off majestically at 8:55 am from the second launch pad at this spaceport, situated about 135 km east of Chennai.

After a flight journey of about 15 minutes, the spacecraft BlueBird Block-2 riding piggyback on the rocket, got separated and reached its intended orbit at an altitude of about 520 km.

"LVM3-M6 successfully and precisely" injected the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite in the intended orbit," said Dr V Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO.

"This is the heaviest satellite ever lifted from Indian soil using an Indian launcher. This is also the third fully commercial mission of LVM-3 and the vehicle has demonstrated its excellent track record," Narayanan said, adding, "This is one of the best performances of any launch vehicle in the global arena."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the launch "a significant stride in India's space sector."

"The successful LVM3-M6 launch, placing the heaviest satellite ever launched from Indian soil, the spacecraft of USA, BlueBird Block-2, into its intended orbit, marks a proud milestone in India's space journey. It strengthens India's heavy-lift launch capability and reinforces our growing role in the global commercial launch market," said PM Modi.

The satellite, BlueBird 6, 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.

The mission is being undertaken as part of the commercial agreement signed between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), a commercial arm of ISRO and US-based AST SpaceMobile (AST and Science, LLC).

Launch Was Delayed By 90 Seconds To Avoid Collision

The ISRO took a cautious approach and decided to delay the launch of the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 M6 flight by 90 seconds. It was earlier slated for lift off at 8:54 am but then the time was pushed to 8 hours 55 minutes and 30 seconds.

ISRO confirmed that there was a chance of a collision on the flight path of the Baahuballi rocket as there was debris or a conjunction with other satellites, hence this delay. These delays are not unusual as the space above Sriharikota is getting congested with thousands of satellites passing over head.

Launch Vehicle Mark-3

LVM3, developed by ISRO, is a three-stage launch vehicle comprising two solid strap-on motors (S200), a liquid core stage (L110), and a cryogenic upper stage (C25). It has a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes, a height of 43.5 m, and a payload capability of 4,200 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

In its earlier missions, LVM3 successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, and two OneWeb missions carrying 72 satellites. The previous launch of LVM3 was the LVM3-M5/CMS-03 mission, that was successfully accomplished on November 2, the ISRO said.