The mission is part of a commercial agreement between a government-run company and UK-based satellite company OneWeb.
India’s space agency says its rocket has successfully put 36 internet satellites into orbit for UK-based satellite company OneWeb after months of delays due to the war in Ukraine.
The mission – part of a commercial agreement between New Space India Limited, a government-run company, and OneWeb – was successfully announced by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) early on Sunday.
“This is the first commercial launch of the new rocket LVM3 [Launch Vehicle Mark 3],” said ISRO President Sreedhara Panicker Somanath as the plane took off at 12:07 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Andhra Pradesh.
This 14th OneWeb satellite launch is based on India’s heaviest rocket, usually reserved for government spacecraft. OneWeb launched its first satellite in 2019.
This is the first launch for OneWeb since partnering with the Russian Space Agency in March because Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite this year’s disruption, the British company says it is still on track to activate global coverage next year with a projected constellation of 648 satellites. It provided service in the northernmost latitudes.
The satellites will be arranged in 12 rings with 49 satellites in each plane in a circular orbit of 1,200 km (745 mi), ISRO speak on its website. Each satellite will complete a full trip around the heart every 109 minutes, it added.
Each OneWeb satellite weighs about 150 kilograms (330 pounds).
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, director of space and security at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the launch is significant for India and reflects the gradual reopening of the country’s space agency. for private customers.
Rajagopalan said India has experience in launching smaller satellites and is trying to appeal to this market, promoting itself as a satellite launch facility.
The ongoing war in Ukraine could open the door for India as many countries shun Russian launch services.
“It could drive that trend in a big way,” she said.
