OneWeb satellites reach India
February 20, 2023
By Chris Forrester
The next batch of OneWeb satellite to be launched by India has reached the country. Another 36 satellites arrived on February 16th from their manufacturing base in Florida. The launch will happen in March.
In October last year, the Indian space agency successfully launched the first batch of 36 satellites by OneWeb from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in the final stages of preparing its heaviest rocket for the launch.
“Following an almost 9,000 mile trip from Florida, our satellites have successfully arrived on site in India and we have begun integration ahead of our upcoming launch with ISRO and NewSpace India Limited,” OneWeb said. “This marks the beginning of another giant leap toward global coverage from OneWeb.”
ISRO’s LVM3 rocket is capable of launching four-tonne class of satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit. It is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-on boosters, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage. The OneWeb satellites will be placed in orbit at an altitude of 1,200km above the Earth’s surface.
On February 17th, Eutelsat CEO Eve Berneke said that this launch and one other handled by SpaceX will complete OneWeb’s initial constellation. Eutelsat is in the process of acquiring OneWeb.