In its very first commercial mission, the GSLV-Mk III will launch the British startup OneWeb’s 36 broadband satellites from Sriharikota spaceport. The launch was made official by way of a contract signed by the Indian Space Research Organisation‘s commercial arm, the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
The new rocket is capable of launching a four tonne class of satellite to the Geosynchronous Transfer orbit (GTO).
The rocket, GSLV-MK III is 43 meters tall and even though it is the heaviest among India’s operational launch vehicles, it is also the shortest. GSLV-Mk III weighs 641 tonnes, which is equal to the weight of five fully loaded passenger planes.
“The launch is slated shortly after October 21 midnight. We are looking at 00:12 hours on October 22,” said a senior official of the national space agency on the condition of anonymity on Thursday.
“Undertaking the launch of 36 OneWeb satellites on-board GSLV-Mk III from India is a historic moment for NSIL and ISRO,” NSIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Radhakrishnan D was also quoted as saying earlier.
The GSLV-Mk III, also known as the Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3), is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-on, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage. Indian company, Bharti Enterprises is a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb.
Central public sector enterprise, NSIL under the Department of Space, stated that the contract with OneWeb is a historic milestone for NSIL and ISRO. This is the first instance of a LVM3 making its entry into the global commercial launch service market.
In an update, dated 4th October the NSIL said that the two solid strap-on boosters and liquid core stage of LVM3 have been fully integrated at the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, in Sriharikota.
“Integration of 36 OneWeb (Low Earth Orbit broadband communication) satellites after successful completion of health checks have been assembled with the dispenser unit,” NSIL said.
“In the coming days integration of (the) cryogenic upper stage of the launch vehicle and integration of payload fairing with 36 satellites will take place,” NSIL had added.