The space agency has also thrown open the viewing gallery for the people to witness the launch, which has been done for the first time since the pandemic started.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s heaviest rocket, GSLV MkIII, is set to launch 36 satellites of the OneWeb communication constellation from the country’s only space port at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 7 am on October 23. With this the GSLV MkIII will enter the global commercial launch service market.
In a tweet, the ISRO said: “LVM3 – M2/OneWeb India-1 Mission: Launch scheduled at 0007 hrs. IST on October 23, 2022. Cryo stage, equipment bay (EB) assembly completed. Satellites are encapsulated and assembled in the vehicle. Final vehicle checks are in progress.”
The space agency has also thrown open the viewing gallery for the people to witness the launch, which has been done for the first time since the pandemic started.
The launch aboard India’s heaviest rocket was purchased by the United Kingdom-based Network Access Associated Limited through the New Space India Limited, one of the commercial arms of the space agency. Bharti group-backed OneWeb is a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit to provide broadband services.
This is the first time that India’s heaviest rocket is being used for a commercial launch. Also, this will the first time a rocket other than India’s workhorse – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) – is being used to carry out commercial launch.
Since its first operational flight, the PSLV has conducted at least eight commercial-only launches. The vehicle has established itself in the global market, having launched at least 345 foreign satellites from 36 countries, with its most notable flight being the 2017 PSLV-C37 mission that put 104 satellites in orbits (of which 101 were foreign commercial satellites).