- ISRO had launched the first batch of 36 satellites in October last year
- The satellites are likely to be launched by ISRO on LVM-3 in March this year. ISRO had redesignated the GSLV-MkIII launch vehicles as LVM-3 for the launch.
Bengaluru, February 24: A batch of 36 satellites of Oneweb had reached India on February 16 from the US for their launch in the middle of March, the UK based satellite communications firm said in a statement, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it is in the final stages of preparing its heaviest rocket for the launch.
OneWeb’s 36 satellites integrated with Indian rocket, gearing up for orbit and Indian rocket LVM3 is expected to orbit the 36 satellites.
UK-based Network Access Associated Ltd.’s (OneWeb) second batch of 36-satellites has been integrated with the Indian rocket LVM3, the company said.
“An exciting update from our team in India as we confirm the successful integration of our 36 satellites ahead of our upcoming launch with ISRO and NSIL India. Thanks to our team working on site as we mark another step closer to completing the OneWeb global constellation,” OneWeb tweeted.
“The OneWeb satellites are slated for launch during the first or second week of March by our rocket,” a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), preferring anonymity said.
The first batch of 36 satellites was launched on October 23, 2022, from Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh with an LVM3 rocket formerly known as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MK-III (GSLV MK-III).
ISRO’s LVM3 rocket is capable of launching four-tonne class of satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit. It is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strapons, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage. The OneWeb satellites will be placed in orbit at an altitude of 1,200km above the earth’s surface.
ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) has signed a contract with OneWeb to launch 72 satellites in two phases for a launch fee of over Rs.1,000 crore, OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said last October.
Early this month, OneWeb confirmed the successful deployment of 40 satellites launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was OneWeb’s 16th to date, with only two more launches remaining to complete its first-generation constellation enabling global connectivity in 2023.
With 542 satellites now in orbit, OneWeb has launched over 80 percent of its first-generation constellation.
