SRIHARIKOTA: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched LVM3 rocket and placed 36 satellites in orbit of UK-based company OneWeb on March 26. With this, OneWeb has completed the first-generation constellation in space and its final set of satellites are now in place which would enable it to deliver broadband connection anywhere on earth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated NSIL, IN-SPACe and ISRO on the successful launch. In response to a tweet by OneWeb, the Prime Minister said; “Congratulations @NSIL_India @INSPACeIND @ ISRO on yet another successful launch of LVM3 with 36 @OneWeb satellites. It reinforces India’s leading role as a global commercial launch service provider in the true spirit of Aatmanirbharta.”
This was OneWeb’s 18th launch, its third this year, bringing the total of OneWeb’s constellation to 618 satellites. The OneWeb constellation design calls for 588 satellites for global coverage and additional satellites are planned for resiliency and redundancy.
This was the second launch by ISRO for the UK-based OneWeb which is backed by the government of UK and India’s Bharti Telecom. In a statement, the company said that “thanks to the latest successful launch, the constellation is in place to soon deliver global services. By year-end, OneWeb will be ready to roll out global coverage, enhancing its existing connectivity solutions that are already live in regions north of 50-degrees latitude as it brings new areas online by partnering with leading providers.”
This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, highlighting the strong partnership with NSIL and ISRO and OneWeb’s commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of India. Once activated, OneWeb’s coverage solutions will bring secured connectivity to enterprises, towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the most remote areas across the country.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said: “Today’s launch represents a major step towards closing the digital divide. OneWeb’s global constellation will play a pivotal role in realising this dream.”
