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Isro all set for maiden commercial launch of 36 satellites
The firing of the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 in the wee hours on Sunday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota marks India’s entry into the global commercial launch service market. The payload will be its largest ever at 5,796 kg.
New Delhi: Countdown started early on Saturday for the first commercial launch of 36 broadband communication satellites of OneWeb by the heaviest rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation. “The countdown continues leading to the lift-off at seven minutes past midnight,” the space agency said in a statement.
The firing of the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 in the wee hours on Sunday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota marks India’s entry into the global commercial launch service market. The payload will be its largest ever at 5,796 kg.
OneWeb is a private company that has India’s Bharti Enterprises as a major investor and shareholder. NewSpace India Limited, a state-owned firm under the department of space, had signed two launch service contracts with Network Access Associated Limited, which runs OneWeb and is based in London, to launch the low earth orbit satellites on board the launch vehicle.
Isro has redesignated the launch vehicle as Launch Vehicle Mark 3 from Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, which is the space organisation’s heaviest launch vehicle.
The name of the rocket was changed because it will not deploy the satellites in a geosynchronous orbit in this mission, Isro scientists said. The OneWeb satellites operate in low earth orbit at an altitude of 1,200km over the earth’s surface. The geosynchronous orbit is located 35,786km above earth’s equator.
After a successful launch on Sunday, NewSpace plans on sending more satellites next year. “Another set of 36 OneWeb satellites will be launched by LVM3 in the first half of next year,” the company said in a statement.
Isro’s newest rocket is capable of launching a four-tonne satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. LVM3 is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motors, a liquid propellant core and a cryogenic engine.
