ISRO all set to launch OneWeb's 36 satellites on March 26

Tirupati:  After the successful launch of OneWeb's 36 satellites in the first batch, ISRO is now gearing up to launch the second and final batch of 36 more satellites under the 'LVM3-M3/OneWeb India-2 mission' from the Satish Dhawan Space centre at Sriharikota in Tirupati district on March 26. By launching the 36 satellites on October 23, 2022, India marked the first dedicated commercial launch for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) using the LVM3 rocket. The NSIL released the LVM3-M3 OneWeb India-2 mission brochure on Thursday in which it revealed that the integration works as part of the mega launch are underway at the second launch pad at SHAR in Sriharikota.

This is the sixth flight of LVM 3 which is the Heavy Lift launcher of ISRO with a successful track record of five successive launches so far. The current mission LVM3-M3, is the 2nd dedicated commercial satellite mission being undertaken by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for its customer M/s Network Access Associates Ltd (M/s OneWeb), UK. As part of this commercial arrangement, 36 Oneweb Gen-1 satellites would be launched into 450 km circular Low Earth Orbit (Osculating) with an inclination of 87.4 degrees having a total payload Mass of 5805 kg.  It was learnt that the LVM3 is a three stage launch vehicle having two solid propellant S200 strap-ons and core stages consisting of L110 liquid stage, C25 cryogenic stage, equipment bay and encapsulated assembly (EA) which comprises spacecraft, payload adaptor and payload fairing. It will take off with the simultaneous ignition of the two S200 boosters.

OneWeb is a global communication network powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites. India's Bharti Enterprises serves as a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb.  According to ISRO, this is OneWeb's 18th launch, its third this year, bringing the total of OneWeb's constellation to 618 satellites. This launch will be a major milestone for the company with the number of satellites now in-orbit enabling global service, the first LEO operator to reach this milestone. OneWeb will soon be ready to roll out its global coverage.