The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is readying its heaviest launch vehicle for the second mission to deploy 36 internet satellite constellation.
The satellites developed by UK-based OneWeb are set to be launched in mid-March from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on the Launch Vehicle Mark-III to Low Earth Orbit, where they will join the already deployed constellation of satellites aimed at providing global broadband coverage.
The satellites have already arrived in India after completing a 9000-mile trip from Florida. They are being mated with the fairing of the LVM-III rocket ahead of the upcoming launch.
This will be the second launch of the internet constellation by OneWeb from India after the first batch of 36 satellites was launched in 2022. The launch is part of two launch service contracts with M/s Network Access Associated Limited (M/s OneWeb) to launch the satellites.
The agreement was signed between OneWeb and India's New Space India Limited (NSIL) after Russia denied launch services to the United Kingdom over sanctions from western countries following its invasion of Ukraine.
OneWeb recently completed its 16th launch to date, on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX in Florida, to bring its total constellation to 542 satellites – more than 80% of its Gen1 constellation.
Isro has re-designated the GSLV-MkIII to LVM-3 since the rocket will not be depositing the satellites in the geosynchronous orbit, but instead in the Low Earth Orbit. This launch is one of the biggest commercial orders by India's premier space organization, and the first using the LVM3 rocket.
