‘Historic event’: ISRO chairman Somanath ahead of 'LVM3 M2 OneWeb India-1' mission

With less than 12 hours to go for the maiden commercial launch and multi-satellite launch by India's heaviest rocket, ISRO chairman Dr. Somanath, termed it a “historic event”. He said that the Indian space agency was happy to have 36 OneWeb satellites on board the LVM3 rocket, ready for deployment in orbit.

The wee-hour launch that is to take place at 12:07 am on Sunday, will take place from India's spaceport Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This launch is meant to place 36 satellites of UK-based OneWeb, in Low Earth Orbit, around 601 kms above the earth's surface.

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This mission is dubbed as 'LVM3 M2/OneWeb India-1' and 'M2' refers to the fact that this is the second operational launch of India's heaviest rocket Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM 3 or GSLV Mk3). The suffix of OneWeb India-1 signifies that the launch is being facilitated for the customer company, UK-based OneWeb. The number '1' is meant to denote that this is the first of two launches that ISRO will be carrying out for OneWeb, as part of a launch contract.

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"It's truly a red-letter day for India, NSIL (commercial arm of ISRO) and OneWeb. As we embark upon the 14th launch of OneWeb, which will inject 36 new satellites into orbit, this becomes a very special moment for all of us. I am very glad that today, we are lifting off one of the most important missions from India, on the GSLV Mk3 rocket" said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises.

OneWeb is a global communication network powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses and communities. The firm is implementing a constellation of Low Earth orbit satellites, which will be arranged in 12 orbital planes with 49 satellites in each plane, this constellation will have a total of 648 satellites. India's Bharti Enterprises serves as a major shareholder and investor in OneWeb. This is OneWeb's 14th launch overall and first-ever launch with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and its commercial arm NSIL.

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The duration of the mission, from lift-off till separation of the first satellite will be a little over 19 minutes. This launch will mark the entry of the Indian GSLV Mk3 rocket into the global medium-lift commercial launch services arena, which has largely been a duopoly of American and European firms.

The GSLV Mk3 rocket is a three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-on motors (burns solid fuel), a core-stage liquid booster (burns a combination of liquid fuels) and a cryogenic upper stage (burns liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen). GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4-ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of its predecessor, the GSLV Mk II.

D.Radhakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director, NSIL, referred to this launch as a significant milestone for NSIL. He added that it would open up the big global commercial launch service market for this rocket, as many operators world-over were looking to build Low Earth Orbit constellations for meeting global communications needs. He said that this effort of NSIL would go a long way in Enhancing India's share in the global space economy.

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