India's space agency says its rocket has successfully launched 36 internet satellites for UK-based satellite company OneWeb after months of delay due to the war in Ukraine.
The mission, which is part of a business deal between New Space India Limited, a state-owned company, and OneWeb, was successfully announced by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Sunday morning. Panic Somanath said the launch took place at 00:07. m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Andhra Pradesh. This 14th OneWeb satellite launch was based on India's heaviest rocket, normally reserved for government spacecraft. OneWeb launched its first satellite in 2019.
It was OneWeb's first launch since it broke with the Russian space agency in March due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 648 satellites. It is already in use in the northernmost latitudes. The satellites will be arranged in 12 rings with 49 satellites in each tier in a 1,200 km (745 miles) circular orbit, ISRO said on its website . Each satellite will complete a full loop. travel around the heart every 109 minutes, he added.
Each OneWeb satellite weighs approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds). The launch is important for India and reflects the gradual opening of its space agency to private customers, said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, special director for space and security at the Observer Research Foundation. in New Delhi, he told the Associated Press.
Rajagopalan said India has experience in launching smaller satellites and is trying to capture this market by presenting itself as a satellite launch facility. Many countries avoid Russian launch services. "It could greatly fuel that trend," he said.
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