India has placed the communications satellite AST SpaceMobile, weighing 6.1 tons, into orbit with the LVM3-M6 rocket, enhancing its heavy launch capacity.

India has made significant progress in the space sector with the launch of the AST SpaceMobile communications satellite, which weighs 6.1 tons, using the LVM3-M6 rocket. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised this achievement, highlighting the importance of strengthening India's heavy launch capacity and its role in the global commercial launch sector. This launch comes in the context of India's ambitions to conduct a crewed spaceflight by 2027 and to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040. Additionally, the Indian space agency has demonstrated rapid progress over the last ten years, managing to compete with major powers at significantly lower costs.