36 internet satellites loaded: OneWeb closer to launch with Isro's LVM-III

Weeks after they landed in India, the second batch of 36 OneWeb internet satellites have been encapsulated into the launch fairing of LVM-III. The satellites will complete the network of Gen-1 constellation by the UK-based company to provide broadband services.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is gearing up for the launch of the 36 satellites on its heaviest launch vehicle, the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVMIII) to Low Earth Orbit. The rocket will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to deploy the probes.

Isro is yet to release information about launch dates. It is, however, expected to be launched by the end of this month.

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"Exciting news from India as we confirm the encapsulation of our 36 satellites ahead of #OneWebLaunch18; our final launch which will complete our Gen 1 constellation. Thanks to our OneWebbers on site, as well as our colleagues at Isro and NSIL," OneWeb said in a tweet.

This will be the 18th launch for OneWeb which will complete its first constellation around Earth. The company recently conducted the 17th launch to deploy 40 internet satellites onboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket.

The British government-backed company in March last year canceled a planned launch of 36 broadband satellites aboard Russia's Soyuz rocket after Russia's space chief halted the mission in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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Dmitry Rogozin said at the time that his agency wanted OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites were not going to be used against Russia. Western sanctions following the invasion have impacted Moscow's space industry, and Rogozin also demanded that Britain sell its stake in OneWeb.

OneWeb refused and canceled all its future Soyuz launches. But it has been unable to retrieve the satellites from its Soyuz launch site at the Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellites are worth a combined $50 million, OneWeb chief executive Neil Masterson said Tuesday.

The dispute was a temporary setback to OneWeb's plan to create an initial constellation of 588 satellites to provide global broadband coverage, forcing the company to quickly secure new rocket agreements with the Indian Space Research Organisation and SpaceX.

OneWeb manufactures at least two satellites per day.

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