Why in news? The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s largest Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) rocket/OneWeb India-2 Mission with 36 satellites onboard from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Highlights:

• OneWeb India-2 is the second mission for Network Access Associates Ltd., U.K. (OneWeb Group Company) under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL) to launch 72 satellites into low-earth orbits (LEOs).
• This is the sixth flight of LVM3 and rocket had five consecutive successful missions, including Chandrayaan-2.
• The mission had the upgraded S200 motors with enhanced margins suitable for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and the motors performed very well.
• This launch is a significant milestone for India to move towards benefiting from remarkable capabilities of LEO connectivity and the spread of space-based Internet

What is OneWeb?

• OneWeb is a global communication network powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities.
• It is implementing a constellation of LEO satellites.
• India’s Bharti Enterprises serves as a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb.
• This launch is a major milestone for the company, with the number of satellites now in orbit enabling global service, the first LEO operator to reach this milestone.
• The OneWeb Group Company has inked a contract with ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd to launch 72 satellites into LEO.
• The first satellite deployment collaboration between the two organisations took place in October 2022 with ISRO launching 36 satellites of OneWeb.