Congratulating the space scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday described the successful launch of the country's heaviest launch vehicle, LVM-3, as the emergence of India in the global commercial launch market.
“LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) and enhances India’s competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market," Modi said.
The launch of OneWeb's 36-satellite payload, weighing more than 6 tons, will attract more customers to India’s state-run NSIL, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) believes.
The 43.5-meter LVM-3 is capable of delivering 8 tons of payload to low Earth orbit and 4 tons to the more distant geostationary transfer orbit.
The UK-based firm approached India’s space agency following the cancellation of its planned launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in March.
The launch was called off following a disagreement between Russia and the board of OneWeb over issues that arise in the aftermath of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine.
India hopes that it would receive a fair amount of space launch businesses due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions.
“With this mission, we have shown to the entire world how to contract and execute the mission in less than four months,” NSIL chief D. Radhakrishnan said.
The commercial arm of the ISRO will launch another set of 36 satellites from OneWeb in January 2023.
India currently accounts for less than one percent of the $17 billion global satellite launch market, given that it has yet to fully acquire the capacity to launch 4-ton+ communication satellite.
However, the agency aims to increase its share to 10 percent by the end of this decade.