ISRO to complete Sunil Bharti Mittal’s global communications constellation dream with March 28 launch

Bharti chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed OneWeb will be completing its constellation of 618 satellites with the launch of an additional 36 satellites on an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket, the UK-headquartered company has said.

Scheduled for March 28, the mission will be taking off from ISRO’s iconic launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota off the Andhra Pradesh coast.

The encapsulation of the satellites in ISRO’s Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3)’s heatshield has been successfully accomplished. LVM-3 is the Indian space agency’s heaviest rocket.

This will be OneWeb’s 18th launch and its third this year. The company earlier successfully deployed 80 satellites through SpaceX missions on January 10 and March 9, respectively.

Following the placement of the satellites, the company will be completing its first-generation low earth orbit (LEO) constellation to provide global coverage.

The UK-headquartered OneWeb is an LEO satellite communications company and, with a 40 per cent stake, India’s $15 billion Bharti Group is its largest shareholder.

“By completing the constellation, OneWeb is taking a pivotal step forward in delivering global coverage.

Alongside our distribution partners, OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency solutions will help connect communities, enterprises and governments around the world, demonstrating the unparalleled potential of LEO connectivity,” the company said in an official statement.

This will further enable the company to bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas across India, OneWeb added.

In July 2022, Bharti Enterprises and OneWeb announced a distribution partnership with Hughes Communications India to connect towns, villages, and local and regional municipalities in the hardest-to-reach areas.

This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, with the first one taking place in October last year.

The launch is being conducted by ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL).

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