On March 26, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its largest and heaviest Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) rocket from the second launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
This was the sixth consecutive successful flight of the LVM3-M3 and it carried a total payload of 5,805 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The rocket placed 36 satellites belonging to the OneWeb Group Company in their intended 450 km circular orbit with an inclination of 87.4 degrees. According to ISRO, the vehicle executed a sophisticated manoeuvre to orient in orthogonal directions and injected the satellites into precise orbits with defined time-gaps to avoid collision.
Indian Minister of Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, shared a video of the launch and congratulated ISRO as well as the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi also took to social media to congratulate various agencies, including ISRO, for the successful launch.
This launch, called the LVM3-M3/OneWeb India-2 mission, was the first satellite deployment collaboration between Network Access Associates Ltd, OneWeb Group Company, and ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL). It was the second time OneWeb had used ISRO’s satellite launch services, completing its constellation of 618 low earth orbit satellites, which will enable it to provide broadband internet services from space worldwide.
OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson stated that this was the most significant milestone in the company’s history, as it had now reached the satellites required for global coverage.
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