NE SCIENCE & TECH BUREAU
NEW DELHI/SRIHARIKOTA, OCT 23
The Indian Space Research Organisations’ (ISRO) heaviest rocket LVM3-M2 on its maiden commercial mission successfully placed 36 broadband communication satellites of a UK-based customer into the intended orbits.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated space scientists on the successful launch of broadband satellites and said the country is proud of them.
The team of @ISRO, @NSIL_India & @INSPACeIND achieved an impressive feat of successfully launching LVM3 with 36 satellites aimed at enhancing global connectivity. The country is proud of our scientists and their showcasing of the nation's indigenous capabilities. Congratulations!
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 23, 2022
“The team of @ISRO, @NSIL_India & @INSPACeIND achieved an impressive feat of successfully launching LVM3 with 36 satellites aimed at enhancing global connectivity. The country is proud of our scientists and their showcasing of the nation’s indigenous capabilities. Congratulations!” Murmu tweeted.
- ‘Launch Of 36 Broadband Satellites Exemplifies Atmanirbharta’: PM Modi
- ISRO Chairman credits Prime Minister’s support for the mission’s success
Congratulating NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), IN-SPACe, and ISRO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that rocket LVM3-M2 exemplifies Atmanirbharta and enhances India’s competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market.
Congratulations @NSIL_India @INSPACeIND @ISRO on the successful launch of our heaviest launch vehicle LVM3 with 36 OneWeb satellites meant for global connectivity. LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharta & enhances India’s competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 23, 2022
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Congratulations to NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), IN-SPACe, and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the successful launch of our heaviest launch vehicle LVM3 with 36 OneWeb satellites meant for global connectivity. LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharta & enhances India’s competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market.”
ISRO Chairman credits Prime Minister’s support for the mission’s success
Former ISRO chiefs K Sivan and AS Kiran Kumar, and Bharti Enterprises founder-chairman Sunil Mittal among others witnessed the launch from the Mission Control Centre. Terming the mission ‘historic’, ISRO Chairman S Somanath credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for the mission’s success.
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Addressing the gathering at the Mission Control Centre, Somanath said the festival celebrations started at Satish Dhawan Space Centre as LVM3 and its very first commercial mission have accomplished the orbit very accurately.
“Now the rocket has entered into the orbit, 16 satellites out of the 36 satellites have been already injected. I wanted to tell you that this is a slow process of separating the satellites. The data of the separation of the remaining 20 satellites will come a little later and mission operations of observing this separation is continuing,” Somanath said.
It is worth mentioning that OneWeb Ltd is the customer of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, and a global communication network powered from space, enabling internet connectivity for governments and businesses. According to sources, Bharti Enterprises is one of the major investors in OneWeb.
The vehicle is also dubbed as one of the heaviest for its ability to carry satellites up to 8,000 kg. The entire mission to place 36 satellites took around 75 minutes from the lift-off as it required scientists to turn off the engine to place the satellites into their respective orbits. According to ISRO, the vehicle carried the heaviest payload with 36 satellites of OneWeb, becoming the first Indian rocket with a payload of 5,796 kg.
