LVM3 launch which is slated for October 23 from Sriharikota will mark the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the NewSpace India Limited's (NSIL) entry into the global commercial launch service market.
It will also be a historic milestone for ISRO and NSIL as LVM3 is the first dedicated commercial launch on demand through NSIL.
NSIL, the commercial arm of ISRO, had signed two launch service contracts with Network Access Associated Limited (M/s OneWeb), United Kingdom, for launching OneWeb LEO Broadband Communication Satellites on-board ISRO’s heaviest launcher LVM3. As part of the contract, 36 satellites will be placed into orbit by one LVM3, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
OneWeb satellites are lobbed into space on the ISRO LVM3 M2 launch vehicle. “The particular configuration of the launcher is derived from the successful LVM3 D1 mission. LMV3 D1 mission was the first launch that tested GSLV MkIII launch vehicle technologies.
Another derivative is LVM3 X which launched the CREW (Crew Module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment) into space. It is not the standard, full-fledged GSLV MkIII launcher. ISRO follows a highly straightforward and technical naming scheme. Since the GSLV implies launch into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), it is named Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). However, OneWeb was to be launched at a closer orbit, Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Hence ISRO changed the naming scheme,” pointed out Girish Linganna, space and aerospace expert and managing director, ADD Engineering India.
Space experts point out that GSLV MkIII will have a high-Pressure VIKAS (named after Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai) Engine (HPVE), which LMV3 M2 does not have. “Compared to preceding rockets, the enhanced VIKAS engine will utilise regenerative cooling, resulting in a reduction in weight and an increase in specific impulse. LVM3 M2 is not built explicitly for OneWeb, but it was repurposed for the launch as it was already in assembly. The commercialisation of the LMV3 testbed is a surprise announcement by ISRO and a significant step by the risk-averse space launch market,” added Linganna.
The GSLV MkIII Project was authorised in 2002 with a mission to create an indigenously-produced launch vehicle capable of launching a 4-ton class satellite into GTO. GTO is an intermediate orbit where the satellites are released. From the GTO, satellites find their way to the final orbit, where they stay till their end of life. Three successful flights have concluded the development programme: LVM3 X, GSLV MkIII D1, and GSLV MkIII D2.
GSLV MkIII is a three-stage rocket that consists of two solid strap-on motors (S200), one liquid core stage (L110), and a high-thrust cryogenic upper stage (C25). The S200 solid motor has 204 tonnes of solid propellant, making it one of the world's biggest solid boosters. The liquid L110 stage employs a dual-liquid engine configuration with 115 tonnes of liquid propellant. The C25 Cryogenic upper stage is equipped with the wholly indigenous high-thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) with a fuel loading of 28 tonnes. The vehicle has an overall length of 43.5 metres, a gross takeoff weight of 640 tonnes, and a payload fairing with a diameter of 5 metres.
“OneWeb satellite weighs about 150 kg. Logically, with 36 satellites, the LVM3 M2 will carry 5400 kilograms on board. The maximum capacity of LVM3 M2 is unknown, but the total capacity of GSLV Mk3 is about 10,000 kg for launching into LEO. A Falcon 9 rocket of Space X can carry more than double that load, 22.800 kgs, to LEO. At the same time, Russian Soyuz 2.1a, which was to launch these satellites initially, can take off with a load of 7,020 kg to LEO. Recently, ISRO announced the Next Gen Launch Vehicle (NGLV) that will compete with the Falcon 9 on paper. Not only will it be able to launch similar capacities of payload, but it will also be reusable, like the Falcon 9,” pointed out Linganna.
OneWeb is a global communications network, powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites. India’s Bharti serves as a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb.
