ISRO Successfully Places 36 OneWeb Satellites Into Intended Orbits

The Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3) which is a redesignated version of the geosynchronous launch vehicle Mark III (GLSV-MK III) successfully injected 36 satellites into intended orbits early Sunday morning. ISRO tweeted, "LVM3 M2/OneWeb India-1 mission is completed successfully. All 36 satellites have been placed into their intended orbits."

The launch took place at 12.07 am. The launcher lifted off from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre. For the first time, this launch vehicle carried multiple satellites with the heaviest payload of 5,769kg on LVM3 to date.  The LVM3 rocket has the capacity to carry up to 8 tons to low earth orbit. 

On the launch, ISRO chief S Somanath said that Diwali has started early for the scientists at ISRO. He congratulated the entire launch vehicle team for grabbing the opportunity and making it ready today for the historic mission.

Speaking to a newsagency, he further added, "I also want to thank the OneWeb team for having confidence in us to host the LVM3...we are very hopeful that the next mission of LVM3 will do the same to place the remaining 36 satellites it has been contracted by NSIL. It has been possible because of PM [Narendra] Modi’s support as he wanted LVM3 to come into the commercial market, with NSIL in the forefront, to operationalise our launch vehicles for exploring and expanding the commercial domain."

Also Read: Vijayawada Fire Accident: 2 Killed In Fire At Firecracker Shop