ISRO launches Rocket with UK Firm’s 36 Satellites in major space op

www.mangaloretoday.com

Chennai, March 26, 2023: The Indian space agency this morning launched a rocket carrying 36 satellites from the Sriharikota spaceport near Chennai. The Launch Vehicle Mark-III rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre as part of the OneWeb India-2 mission.

The satellites belonging to the OneWeb group of the UK will be deployed in the low earth orbit and help the company launch global services later this year.

"We have lift off! Thanks to our colleagues at @isro and @NSIL_India for a successful launch," tweeted OneWeb, a global communication network that enables connectivity for governments and companies.

The success of the commercial launch will also position ISRO as a viable service provider for companies trying to launch their satellites.

This is the second rocket launch by the ISRO this year. With this launch, OneWeb will have 616 of its satellites in orbit.

"This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, highlighting the collaboration between the UK and Indian space industries," OneWeb had earlier said.

In the first deployment, ISRO had launched 36 satellites of OneWeb on October 23, 2022.