OneWeb’s 36 satellites integrated with Indian rocket, gearing up for orbit
Chennai, Feb 20
The second batch of 36-satellites belonging to the UK-based Network Access Associated Ltd (OneWeb) has been integrated with the Indian rocket LVM3, tweeted the company.
"An exciting update from our team in India as we confirm the successful integration of our 36 satellites ahead of our upcoming launch with @ISRO and @NSIL_India. Thanks to our team working on site as we mark another step closer to completing the OneWeb global constellation," OneWeb tweeted.
The Indian rocket LVM3 is expected to orbit the 36 satellites sometime next month.
"The OneWeb satellites are slated for launch during the first or second week of March by our rocket," a senior official of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), preferring anonymity, had told IANS.
The first batch of 36 satellites was launched on October 23, 2022 from Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh with LVM3 rocket formerly known as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV MkIII).
ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) has signed a contract with OneWeb to launch 72 satellites in two phases for a launch fee of over Rs 1,000 crore, OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal had said last October.
Early this month, OneWeb confirmed the successful deployment of 40 satellites launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
It was OneWeb's 16th to-date, with only two more launches remaining to complete its first-generation constellation enabling global connectivity in 2023.
With 542 satellites now in orbit, OneWeb has more than 80 per cent of its first-generation constellation launched.
--IANS
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