Satish Dhawan Space Centre SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota
ISRO’s LVM3 launch vehicle successfully placed 36 satellites belonging to OneWeb Group Company into their intended 450 km circular orbit with an inclination of 87.4 degrees today in its sixth consecutive successful flight. NSIL has successfully completed its contract to launch 72 OneWeb satellites into Low Earth Orbit.
At 09:00:20 hours local time, the vehicle launched with a total payload of 5,805 kg from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. It reached the required altitude of 450 km in about nine minutes, reached satellite injection conditions in the eighteenth minute, and began injecting the satellites in the twentieth minute.
We have lift off!
Thanks to our colleagues at @isro and @NSIL_India for a successful launch. If you don’t already, make sure to follow us for more updates throughout the rest of the mission.#OneWebLaunch18 🚀 pic.twitter.com/TsYbCZzAnP
— Eutelsat OneWeb (@EutelsatOneWeb) March 26, 2023
The C25 stage used a complex maneuver to repeatedly orient itself in orthogonal directions and inject satellites into precise orbits with defined time gaps in order to avoid satellite collisions. In a batch of four, 36 satellites were separated into 9 stages. OneWeb confirmed the receipt of signals from all 36 satellites.
This was OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, demonstrating the company’s strong partnership with NSIL and ISRO. It was OneWeb’s 18th launch, bringing the total number of satellites in the OneWeb constellation to 618.
Somanath S, Secretary of Space and Chairman of ISRO congratulated ISRO, NSIL, and OneWeb on the success of the successful mission. He expressed his delight at the third consecutive successful flight of LVM3, the opportunity provided by NSIL, and the OneWeb team’s faith in ISRO.
Somanath thanked the government for its support and approvals for the commercial launch missions, which boosted confidence in LVM3. He was overjoyed to report that this mission used upgraded S200 motors with increased margins suitable for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and that the motors performed admirably.
Radhakrishnan D, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NewSpace India Limited, congratulated ISRO on a successful and repeatable performance. He described the event as historic and recalled the difficulty of this complex mission in terms of maneuverability.
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