Guwahati: The second group of 36 OneWeb internet satellites will be launched into orbit by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on March 26. India’s biggest launch vehicle Onboard LVM-III the internet constellation will be sent into orbit from Sriharikota.
36 satellites from the OneWeb constellation will be launched completing the deployment of the Gen-1 network for the UK-based corporation.
“This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, highlighting the collaboration between the UK and Indian space industries,” OneWeb informed through a Tweet.
The launched vehicle was reclassified by ISRO from GSLV Mk-III to AS LMV-3. Though odd, the practise of changing the launcher’s name is a recent one for India.
It should be noted that the rocket will not launch satellites into geosynchronous orbit which is the only reason the name of the vehicle was changed from GSLV to LVM. The OneWeb satellites are said to be in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at a distance of 1,200 kilometres. The geosynchronous orbit on the other hand, is situated 35,786 kilometres above the equator of the planet.
OneWeb will complete its first constellation around the planet with its 18th launch. The business previously carried out its 17th launch to place 40 broadband satellites atop a Falcon-9 rocket from SpaceX.
40 OneWeb satellites were launched by SpaceX in the past. The launch took place at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. OneWeb has the support of Indian telecom giant Bharti Group.