India’s heaviest rocket LVM3-M2 successfully launched 36 broadband communication satellites for a UK-based customer into the desired orbits on Sunday, according to the space agency, which hailed the mission as “historic.” OneWeb Ltd., a global communication network powered by space that enables internet connectivity for businesses and governments, is the UK-based client of NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO. One of OneWeb’s major investors is Bharti Enterprises.
With Sunday’s accomplishment, ISRO overcame the anomaly it encountered on its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) mission on August 7 that rendered the satellites useless.
Deepavali had begun sooner for the scientists at the space agency, said a beaming S Somanath, chairman of the ISRO.
“The LVM3 M2/OneWeb India-1 mission was successfully completed. All 36 satellites have been launched into their intended orbits. @OneWeb @NSIL India, “ISRO announced in a tweet minutes after Somanath’s announcement that 16 satellites had been placed in the desired orbits, with the rest taking some time.
All 36 satellites were launched into orbit 75 minutes after the rocket took off from the spaceport here.
Somanath told the audience at the Mission Control Centre that the festival celebrations began at Satish Dhawan Space Centre because LVM3 and its first commercial mission completed the orbit very precisely.
“Now that the rocket has entered orbit, 16 of the 36 satellites have been injected. I wanted to let you know that separating the satellites is a slow process. Data on the separation of the remaining 20 satellites will be available shortly, and mission operations to monitor this separation are ongoing “, he had previously stated. ISRO later confirmed that the mission’s desired goal had been met.
Former ISRO chiefs K Sivan and A S Kiran Kumar, as well as Bharti Enterprises founder-chairman Sunil Mittal, witnessed the launch from the Mission Control Centre.
Somanath, also the Secretary of the Department of Space, described the mission as “historic,” and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for its success.
“Congratulations to the entire launch vehicle team for taking the chance and preparing it for the historic mission today. I’d also like to thank the OneWeb team for trusting us to host the LVM3… We are hopeful that the next LVM3 mission will do the same to place the remaining 36 satellites contracted by NSIL “, he explained.
“The three major stakeholders in this particular mission, the NSIL, ISRO, and OneWeb India, have shown the entire world how to contract and execute the mission in less than 3-4 months,” said D Radhakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director of NSIL.
After a 24-hour countdown, the 43.5-meter-tall rocket blasted off on Sunday at 12.07 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Center’s second launch pad in a majestic flight.
Because it can transport satellites weighing up to 8,000 kg, the vehicle is also referred to as one of the heaviest.
The entire mission, which involved launching 36 satellites, took about 75 minutes from liftoff because scientists had to turn off the engine to position the satellites in their intended orbits.
The LVM3-M2 mission on Sunday, which is the launch vehicle’s first dedicated commercial mission, marks several significant firsts.
The rocket, which was the first Indian rocket with a payload of 5,796 kg, carried the heaviest payloads, according to ISRO, including 36 OneWeb satellites.
The ISRO Chairman demanded that the mission be completed in less than three months, according to mission director Thaddeus Baskar.
“Once the requirement was clarified, the entire ISRO team rose to the occasion and worked tirelessly. Throughout the schedule, there was no time for sleep, and everything had to be done correctly the first time “he stated.
The satellites will be placed in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is higher than Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), for the first time with the launch of LVM3-M2 (GTO).
Since the newest rocket can carry 8,000 kg of payloads into LEO and 4,000 kg of satellites into GTO, ISRO scientists changed the launch vehicle’s name from GSLV-Mk III to LVM3-M2.
The LVM3-M2 mission would boost the space agency thanks to the new launch vehicle that will put satellites into low-Earth orbit and ISRO’s dependable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The rocket is a three-stage launch vehicle with two S200 solid propellant strap-ons on its sides and a core stage with an L110 liquid stage and a C25 cryogenic stage.
OneWeb is deploying a constellation of 648 satellites in LEO. While 36 satellites were launched on Sunday, ISRO said that another batch of satellites would be placed in orbit by early 2023.
