36 satellites weighing 5,796 kg, or approximately 5.7 tonnes, were transported by the 43.5-meter-long Launch Vehicle Mark 3, which weighed roughly 644 tonnes.
OneWeb has confirmed that the 36 satellites that NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota, India, were successfully deployed. This launch by ISRO and NSIL is the first to use the LVM3 rocket and one of the largest commercial orders ever placed by India's leading space agency.
On Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 00:07, the liftoff took place. OneWeb's satellites successfully dispersed from the rocket over the course of 1 hour and 15 minutes and 9 phases, with the signal acquisition on all 36 satellites confirmed.
OneWeb has launched 14 times, the most recent being this year. OneWeb's constellation now totals 462 satellites, which is more than 70% of its intended 648 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite fleet that will provide high-speed, low-latency connectivity throughout the planet.
OneWeb is still on target to activate global coverage by 2023 with just four more launches, and its connectivity solutions are now operational in areas north of 50 degrees latitude.
OneWeb's commitment to supplying connectivity throughout all of India by 2023 is demonstrated by its relationship with NSIL and ISRO. OneWeb will deliver safe solutions not only to businesses but also to cities, villages, municipalities, and schools, including the most remote regions of the nation, from Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh. Bharti Global, OneWeb's major investor, supports the company's commitment to enhancing connectivity in India.
The LVM3 launch vehicle developed entirely in-house, has completed four flights successfully in a row, including the crucial Chandrayaan-2 mission. The car underwent a number of rigorous testing as part of the Gaganyaan program's human rating.
To suit the needs of the customer, who wanted to inject satellites accurately and at a distance to prevent a collision, the cryo stage was specially created to orient and reorient in an orthogonal manner. The vehicle was developed quickly to fulfill the user's deadline on a demand-driven basis.
"The LVM3 was designed primarily for the launch of geostationary satellites with a payload capacity of 4T, which can be utilized to launch 6T payloads for LEO", according to Mr. Somnath. The mission is extremely important, he continued, in order to achieve the customer's requirements of launching 36 satellites in 9 phases precisely. The C25 stage had to handle this task utilizing internally developed inertial navigation systems because of the way the mission was designed.
It's a new chapter for India in the space industry, according to Sunil Bharti Mittal, CEO of Bharti Enterprises, whose business is among the major investors in OneWeb. He emphasized that the lack of launch vehicles is a fantastic opportunity for ISRO.
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