The 43.5 meter tall rocket lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center at 12.07 am.
The 43.5 meter tall rocket lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center at 12.07 am.
Indian Space Research Organization’s heaviest rocket LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 36 broadband communications satellites for a UK-based customer were blasted from this spaceport on Sunday to place them in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
look | Launch of ISRO’s dedicated commercial satellite mission LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, has earlier signed two launch service contracts with London-headquartered Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) to launch OneWeb LEO satellites on board ISRO’s LVM3. was signed.
OneWeb is a private satellite communications company in which Bharti Enterprises of India is a major investor and shareholder.
On Sunday, the 43.5-metre tall rocket lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota at 12.07 am at the end of the 24-hour countdown.
The vehicle is also termed as one of the heaviest for its capacity to carry satellites of up to 8,000 kg.
ISRO’s dedicated commercial satellite mission LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 took off on Sunday. , photo credit: B. Jyothi Ramalingam
This mission is significant as it was the first commercial mission of LVM3 and also NSIL’s first with the said launch vehicle.
According to ISRO, the mission has the heaviest payload with 36 satellites of OneWeb, becoming the first Indian rocket with a payload of 5,796 kg.
The launch is also the first for LVM3-M2 which places satellites in low Earth orbit (1,200 km above Earth) as opposed to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
ISRO scientists have rechristened the launch vehicle from its present name GSLV-MKK III as the latest rocket is capable of launching 4,000 kg class of satellites into GTO and 8,000 kg payload into LEO.
GSLV-Mk III had four successful missions in the past.
The LVM3-M2 is a three-stage launch vehicle with two solid propellant S200 strap-ons on the sides and a core stage consisting of an L110 liquid stage and a C25 cryogenic stage.
OneWeb Limited is a global communications network that operates from space, enabling Internet connectivity for governments and businesses.