The latest batch of 36 satellites for satellite operator OneWeb was successfully launched by the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) on board a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-Mk.III rocket with a heavyweight configuration. The launch served as ISRO’s GSLV, the Launch Vehicle Mark III, first commercial mission (LVM3).
More on Satellite Launched by ISRO
From the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the satellites were launched using the Launch Vehicle Mark-III, a renamed version of the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk-III). At 12:07 a.m., the launch occurred. GSLV LVM 3 has a 10-tonne payload capacity, although the rocket only carried 6 tonnes when it launched.
According to a contract between OneWeb and New Space India Limited, this is the LVM-3’s maiden commercial launch.
Reason Behind Changing the Name of the Vehicle from GSLV Rocket to LVM
The only explanation is the rocket’s failure to place the satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Located 1,200 kilometers above Earth, OneWeb satellites are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). In contrast, the geosynchronous orbit is 35,786 kilometers high above the equator.
According to Sunil Bharti Mittal, the company’s chairman, ‘’six launches for OneWeb were necessary, but they had to be delayed due to the geopolitical unrest between Russia and Ukraine. India was accommodating. Several missions were moved up and down so that two launches could be scheduled on a priority basis.”
Satellites Launched for One Web
The mission was OneWeb’s second launch of the year after the situation in Ukraine derailed the UK operator’s goal to complete its satellite launches this year. Bharti Enterprises support OneWeb. OneWeb was utilizing the commercial launch services provided by Russia’s Roscosmos state space agency through its Soyuz rockets before the Ukraine-Russia war.
Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Roscosmos, stated that the OneWeb satellites would not be returned to the corporation unless the UK government acceded to the nation’s demand to lift the restrictions, which are a result of geopolitical sanctions imposed on Russia by countries including the UK.
The satellites are a part of the OneWeb constellation, a group of 468 satellites put into Leo Earth Orbit to provide remote areas with Internet connectivity. OneWeb agreed to pay more than Rs 1000 crore for the launch, and a future GSLV launch with the OneWeb payload is planned for January 2023.
PM Modi Received Gratitude from ISRO’s Chairman
The launch of LVM-3 was a historic mission made possible, in the opinion of ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath, by PM Modi’s support of LVM3’s entry into the commercial sector.
“It’s an important mission. Because PM Modi wanted LVM3 to enter the commercial sector with NSIL at the forefront and operationalize our launch vehicles for examining and extending the commercial sphere, it was made possible.”
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