LVM3-M3
2023 Indian satellite launch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The LVM3-M2 was the sixth launch of India's LVM3 launch vehicle. It was the second commercial launch of the rocket under NSIL and it was a multi-satellite mission to low earth orbit. The cryogenic stage performed multiple reorientation and velocity addition maneuvers to sequentially dispose the satellites.
Payload
On 20 April 2022 OneWeb announced a deal with NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation.[1] OneWeb satellites were to be deployed by LVM 3 [2] using a lightly modified version of the satellite dispenser previously used on Soyuz rockets, a plan cancelled after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3]The mission was also referred to as Oneweb India-2 campaign.
The flight carried a second batch of 36 OneWeb Gen-1 satellites to low earth orbit of 450 km with 87.4° inclination. The launch featured a newer white coat of insulation on the cryogenic stage (C25) which has more environmental-friendly manufacturing processes, better insulation properties and the use of lightweight materials.[4]The vehicle took off with a total payload of 5,805 kg at 09:00:20 hours IST from the second launch pad at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. It achieved satellite injection conditions in about 17 minutes and began injecting the satellites from the twentieth minute. The vehicle performed a sophisticated manoeuvre to orient in orthogonal directions and injected the satellites into precise orbits with defined time-gaps to avoid collision of the satellites.[5]It was Oneweb's 18th launch and brought the constellation to 618 satellites.[6]
