P.M. Modi praised ISRO on the successful completion of mission LVM3-M2.

Introduction

Mission LVM3-M2: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has offered a pre-Diwali gift to India by finishing a multi-satellite mission for a foreign client before the first day of Diwali celebrations across India. It was the LVM3’s greatest payload mass to date, at 5,796 kg. For the first time, ISRO successfully accomplished the task of launching multiple satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) for a foreign client.

It was the maiden mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL), a division of ISRO, and it delivered 36 OneWeb Gen-1 satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The LVM3 launch vehicle, on its second operational flight, successfully launched 36 OneWeb satellites into their assigned orbits on October 23, 2022, at 00:07 from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

OneWeb Gen-1 satellites deliver connectivity in the Ku-band and Ku-bands by using a bent-pipe technology technique. With 49 satellites each in an orbit of 1200 km, they are grouped in 12 orbital planes.

isro oneweb launching photo credit isro — Image credit: ISRO(Just after midnight local time, the Indian rocket blasted off from the Satish Dhawan spaceport)

Table of Contents

Significant points of the mission

First Commercial Mission of LVM3

First Multi-Satellite mission with 36 OneWeb Satellites onboard

First launch of LVM3 to LEO

First Indian rocket with six ton payload

First NSIL Mission with LVM3

First OneWeb Mission with NSIL/DoS

Crucial technological characteristics of the mission

To handle multiple satellite separation events

To increase nominal mission duration

To ensure an reasonable separation distance employing C25 stage-orientation and velocity addition.

To make sure that there is enough data available during the entire mission.

To fulfill payload adaptor and interface ring for the satellites dispenser

The OneWeb Constellation in brief

The operation of OneWeb constellation based on Lower Earth Orbit(LEO) polar orbit.
Satellites are arranged in 12 rings (Orbital planes) with 49 satellites in each plane.
The orbital planes are inclined to be near polar (87.9 Deg.)
The orbital planes are 1200 km above the Earth
Each satellite completes a full trip around the earth every 109 minutes.
The earth is rotating underneath satellites, so they will always be flying over new locations on the ground.
In full service, each plane will have 49 satellites = 588 Satellites.

Onboard the Polar Satellite Vehicle of ISRO (PSLV), Department of Space (DOS) ISRO has been providing its satellite launching service since 1999. Through its commercial arm, PSLV has launched 319 customer satellites on a commercial basis from 33 countries as of June 2019. The maximum number of satellites ever launched in a single mission was achieved by PSLV C-37 in September 2016 when it successfully launched 104 satellites into orbit. The PSLV is a flexible launcher that can put satellites into GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit), Sub-GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit), and LEO (Low Earth Orbit) orbits.

ISRO Chairman Shri S. Somanath complimented the joint efforts of ISRO, NSIL, and OneWeb for producing great success in record time. He made a special point of mentioning how LPSC developed an inertial navigation system for C25 operations.

With this one, ISRO successfully executed one of its largest commercial orders. With its launch, the LVM3-M2 makes a significant entry into the global market.

According to the ISRO, mission LVM3-M2 was one of the largest commercial orders that has been completed by a great collaborative task. The market for launching satellites internationally has been greatly expanded by this expedition.

Indian Prime Minister(P.M.) Narendra Modi praised ISRO on successful completion of mission LVM3-M2 and said it was an example of “Atmanirbharta” (Self Reliance) of India.

Source: ISRO