India launches 36 internet satellites delayed by Russia-Ukraine War
India has successfully launched 36 internet satellites into orbit for UK-based satellite company OneWeb after months due to the war in Ukraine.
On Sunday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the mission, an arrangement between New Space India Limited, a government-run firm, and OneWeb, was successful.
“This is the first-ever commercial launch of the new rocket LVM3 [Launch Vehicle Mark 3],” ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Panicker Somanath said after the launch occurred at 12:07 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian Space Research Organisation carried out the the launch on a 43.5-metre-tall Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) rocket.
Sunday’s launch is the company’s first launch since parting ways with Russia’s Space Agency in March because Moscow invaded Ukraine.
It was the 14th launch of OneWeb satellites and relied on an Indian rocket, normally reserved for government spacecraft. All OneWeb launches were done using Russian spacecraft. The first was in 2019.
Though OneWeb now has 462 satellites in orbit, the London-based company plans to reach global coverage next year with 648 satellites.
Its satellites are arranged in 12 orbital planes, with 49 satellites in each plane on a 1,200-kilometre circular orbit.
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