LVM3 M2 / OneWeb India-1 Mission Flashcards
Why in News?
The LVM3-M2 mission is a dedicated commercial mission for a foreign customer OneWeb, through NSIL. It is the first multi-satellite mission with 36 OneWeb Satellites to the LEO as the heaviest Payload mass of 5,796 kg. of LVM3 till date. Formerly called the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), the rocket is designed to mainly launch satellites into geostationary orbit at 35,000km.
Salient features of the Mission
First Commercial Mission of LVM3
First Multi-Satellite mission with 36 OneWeb Satellites onboard
First launch of LVM3 to LEO
First Indian rocket with six ton payload
First NSIL Mission with LVM3
First OneWeb Mission with NSIL/DoS
Technical Highlights:
Handling of multiple satellite separation events
Increased nominal mission duration
Ensuring safe separation distance through C25 stage re-orientation and velocity addition
Ensuring data availability for entire mission duration
Realization of New payload adaptor and interface ring for the satellites dispenser
OneWeb Constellation Summary
OneWeb Constellation operates in a LEO Polar Orbit
Satellites are arranged in 12 rings (Orbital planes) with 49 satellites in each plane.
The orbital planes are inclined to be near polar (87.9 Deg.)
The orbital planes are 1200 km above the Earth
Each satellite completes a full trip around the earth every 109 minutes.
Theearth is rotating underneath satellites, so they will always be flying over new locations on the ground.
In full service, each plane will have 49 satellites = 588 Satellites.
ISRO’s rockets
While the LVM3 was named the GSLV Mk III, it features a suite of improved systems and components over the GSLV Mk II. As a result, the rocket is considered to be in a league of its own, apart from the trusty Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the GSLV.
The LVM3 is capable of lifting much heavier satellites than the GSLV Mk II with a bigger cryogenic upper stage and a larger first stage. Both GSLV Mk II and LVM3 are three-stage vehicles, while the PSLV, which launches to low earth polar orbits, is a four-stage vehicle. The GSLV Mk-II can place up to 2,500kg in geosynchronous orbits and up to 5,000kg to low earth orbit. By comparison, the LVM3 can lift 4,000kg to GTO and up to 8,000 kg to LEO.
Currently, SpaceX’s non-human rated Falcon Heavy, a super-heavy lift vehicle, is the heaviest rocket that is operational, only surpassed by the retired Saturn V, which launched Apollo astronauts to the moon.
The LVM3 also has the human-rated variant which will be used for Gaganyaan missions.
The next launch for the rocket is planned for February 2023, yet again launching 36 of OneWeb’s satellites, while June of next year will tentatively see the launch vehicle pushing Chandrayaan-3 to a trans-lunar orbit.
This Sunday’s successful mission carried a payload of 5,796kg — now ISRO’s heaviest till date
GSLV-MARK-III
The development for the GSLV Mk III began in the early 2000s, along with the development of the cryogenic upper stage, which ISRO has been trying to develop to reduce reliance on the currently-used Russian design. The failure of the upper stage to ignite in consecutive flights in the GSLV MkII led to the first test flight of GSLV MkIII being delayed.
The rocket’s first experimental flight (also known as developmental or test flight) was initially scheduled for the early 2010s, but was pushed to make time for the Mars Orbiter Mission which launched in 2013.
The static fire tests for the rocket and its boosters were conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2015. The human-rated variant of the rocket, which is being developed for the Gaganyaan programme, also underwent static fire tests this year.
The cryogenic upper stage was also tested successfully in 2017.
The maiden suborbital test flight of the GSLV Mk III was on 18 December 2014 as a test flight with a dummy upper stage. It carried the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), a part of the Gaganyaan mission. The first orbital test flight occurred on 5 June 2017, carrying the GSAT-19 and placing it successfully in a 170km orbit. The second orbital test flight on 14 November 2018 placed the GSAT-29 into a geostationary orbit.
ISRO’s heaviest rocket successfully places 36 satellites in orbit
The 43.5 metre Launch Vehicle Mark 3 weighing around 644 tonne carried 36 satellites weighing 5,796 kg or about 5.7 tonne
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) heaviest rocket Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3 or GSLV Mark 3) which took off from the second launch pad (SLP) of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota at 12.07 a.m. (IST) has successfully orbited 36 satellites of U.K.-based OneWeb.
This is OneWeb’s 14th launch, bringing the constellation to 462 satellites. This launch represents more than 70% of its planned 648 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity worldwide.
The 43.5 metre LVM3 weighing around 644 tonne carried 36 satellites weighing 5,796 kg or about 5.7 tonne. With this launch, LVM3 has made its entry into the global commercial launch service market.
Combined mIssion
LVM3-M2 is the dedicated commercial satellite mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Space, Government of India. This mission is being undertaken as part of the commercial arrangement between NSIL and m/s Network Access Associates Limited (m/s OneWeb Ltd), a U.K. based company. OneWeb is a joint venture between India’s Bharti Enterprises and the U.K. government.
With only four more launches to go, OneWeb remains on track to activate global coverage in 2023, while its connectivity solutions are already live in regions north of 50-degrees latitude.This partnership with NSIL and ISRO demonstrates OneWeb’s commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of India by 2023. From Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, OneWeb will bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas across the country.
NSIL
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Government of India and commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was established on 6 March 2019 under the administrative control of Department of Space (DoS) and the Company Act 2013. The main objective of NSIL is to scale up private sector participation in Indian space programmes.
Founded 6 March 2019
Headquarters HFSC Building, ISRO HQ, New BEL Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
D. Radhakrishnan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director
BHARTI ENTERPRISES
Bharti Enterprises is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Delhi. It was founded in 1976 by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Enterprises owns businesses spanning across manufacturing, telecommunications, agribusiness, real estate, hospitality, agri and food. The group’s flagship company, Bharti Airtel, is a telecom service provider with operations in more than 18 countries across Asia, North America, Africa & Europe. The company ranks amongst the top two mobile network operators globally in terms of subscribers.
Founded 1976; 46 years ago
Founder Sunil Bharti Mittal
Headquarters Bharti Crescent, Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, Delhi, India
Key people Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman cum Managing Director cum Chief Executive Officer)
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation[a] (ISRO; /ˈɪsroʊ/) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bangalore. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ISRO acts as the executive of DOS as well. ISRO is India’s primary agency for performing tasks related to space-based applications, space exploration and the development of related technologies. It is one of six government space agencies in the world which possess full launch capabilities, deploy cryogenic engines, launch extraterrestrial missions and operate large fleets of artificial satellites.
Formed 15 August 1969; 53 years ago
Preceding agency
Indian National Committee for Space Research
(INCOSPAR)
Type Space agency
Headquarters Bangalore, India
Chairman S Somanath
