Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : In a major space mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the second batch of 36 satellites as part of its agreement with Britain's OneWeb Group Company. The satellites are launched aboard the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3-M3) on Sunday at 9 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
In all, ISRO's NewSpace India Ltd had signed an agreement with Network Access Associates Ltd (United Kingdom, OneWeb Group Company) for launching 72 satellites. The first batch of 36 satellites was launched by ISRO on 23 October 2022. As part of this collaboration, the satellites were launched into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
While NewSpace is the commercial arm of ISRO, OneWeb is a global communication organisation operating in space-based networking and connectivity for both governments and businesses. For ISRO, the LVM3-M3/OneWeb India-2 mission is seen as a major landmark in its commercial endeavours.
Calling it a pivotal launch, the OneWeb said that with today's launch, they would reach 616 satellites in orbit which would be enough to launch their global services later this year. Also, this would cross a milestone by completing the first-ever global LEO constellation, according to the company's sources.
ISRO has deployed a 43.5-metre tall rocket for the March 26 mission. The 36 first-generation satellites weighing 5,805 kgs would be injected into a 450-km circular orbit at an inclination of about 87.4 degrees. For ISRO's launch vehicle LVM3, this is going to be its sixth flight into space from the SDSC, also known as SHAR (Sriharikota High Altitude Range), located 130 kms from Chennai.
