PM Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated NewSpace India Limited, IN-SPACe and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of heaviest rocket LVM3 with 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit. Isro’s heaviest rocket LVM3 entered the global space service market with the latest launch of 36 broadband satellites. The launch is one of the biggest commercial orders by India’s premier space organisation, and the first using the LVM3 rocket. This is the 14th launch of OneWeb, and the second this year. Talking about the launch, PM Modi said the launch is linked to India’s growing self-reliance. "Congratulations @NSIL_India, @INSPACeIND, @ISRO on the successful launch of our heaviest launch vehicle LVM3 with 36 OneWeb satellites meant for global connectivity. LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharta & enhances India’s competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market," PM Modi tweeted.
The lift-off took place on Sunday at 00.07 hrs. OneWeb’s satellites separated successfully from the rocket and were dispensed in nine phases over a period of 1 hour and 15 minutes, with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites confirmed.
With this, the total number constellation in OneWeb is 462 satellites. There are only four launches left, after which OneWeb will activate its global coverage by 2023, while its connectivity solutions are already live in regions north of 50-degrees latitude. OneWeb’s mission is to enhance connectivity in India and is backed by Bharti Global, OneWeb’s largest investor.
“This is the first ever commercial launch of LVM3 with a heaviest payload to LEO. The LVM3 was conceived primarily for launching geo-stationary satellites with a payload capacity of 4T, which can be used for launching 6T payloads for LEO. The mission is very critical to meet the customer’s expectations to launch 36 satellites in 9 phases with precision. The mission was designed in such a way, that C25 stage was to handle this operation using in-house built inertial navigation systems. The injection of the satellites were so precise to the expectation of the customer. NSIL, the commercial arm of ISRO entered into this contract and executed the same in a record time. This will pave way for more such launches in the future. The interaction with OneWeb was so seamless right from the receipt of the satellites till injection. ISRO and OneWeb teams worked like a family. I compliment all the ISRO centres and Indian industries for the commendable job and congratulate NSIL and OneWeb for the successful launch of LVM3 M2 / OneWeb India-1 mission,” said Somanath S, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO.
“Today’s launch is a significant milestone for OneWeb. This new phase of our launch programme from India brings us a step closer to not only enhancing our global coverage but also delivering connectivity in India and South Asia, particularly to the communities who need it most. This launch with ISRO and NSIL opens up the space sector in India with the possibility of billions of dollars flowing into the country,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Enterprises CEO, and Executive Chairman of OneWeb.
The LVM3 launch vehicle realised with complete indigenised technology had four consecutive successful missions, which includes critical Chandrayaan-2 mission. The vehicle underwent several critical tests as a part of human rating for Gaganyaan programme. The cryo stage was uniquely designed to orient and re-orient in orthogonal direction to meet the customer requirements of injecting satellites precisely and with a gap to avoid collision. The vehicle was realised in a short span of time on demand driven basis to meet the user’s timeline.