Science
ISRO To Launch 36 OneWeb Satellites For A Second Time On 26 March And Help Cap Off Satellite Constellation
- ISRO will call on the services of its powerful launch vehicle-mark 3 (LVM3) to place 36 OneWeb satellites in orbit.
- It will mark the completion of OneWeb's first-generation constellation of 618 satellites.
- That will allow the company to begin providing high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity worldwide this year.
OneWeb confirmed on 15 March the encapsulation of their 36 satellites ahead of their launch with ISRO.
Thirty-six OneWeb satellites will fly on India’s heaviest rocket no earlier than Sunday, 26 March, at 9 am.
OneWeb is a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company from the United Kingdom (UK). India’s Bharti Enterprises is a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb, and Sunil Bharti Mittal is OneWeb’s executive chairman.
The UK company’s upcoming launch with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be its eighteenth and final one, and third this year, as it caps off its first-generation LEO constellation of 618 satellites.
Just a week ago, the satellite communications company had confirmed the successful deployment of 40 satellites launched with SpaceX.
“OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency solutions will help connect communities, enterprises and governments around the world, demonstrating the unparalleled potential of LEO connectivity,” OneWeb said, adding that “it will bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas” across India.
As always, the satellites will take off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. They will be lifted off from the second launch pad.
And just like with the OneWeb India-1 mission, ISRO will call on the services of its powerful launch vehicle-mark 3 (LVM3), earlier known as GSLV-Mk3, to place 36 satellites in orbit.
The satellites, weighing about 5,800 kg, will be placed into a 450-km circular LEO with an inclination of 87.4 degrees.
The Sunday launch will mark LVM3’s sixth flight. The Chandrayaan-2 and OneWeb India-1 missions are part of the LVM3 portfolio in what's a very short career thus far, spanning five missions.
LVM3 had delivered the first batch of 36 OneWeb satellites on its debut commercial flight, and only its second operational mission, on Diwali day last year. It became a proper option on the global commercial launch market in the process.
OneWeb had contracted NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO, for the LVM3 satellite missions. The deal was for the launch of 72 satellites across two missions for a fee of over Rs 1,000 crore.
“This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, highlighting the collaboration between the UK and Indian space industries,” OneWeb said in a tweet on 16 March.
The LVM3-M3 was “realized in a short span of time on a demand-driven basis to meet the user's timeline,” ISRO has said.
Besides ISRO, OneWeb has used the services of aerospace company SpaceX and the launch services company Arianespace in building up its satellite constellation.
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