On March 26, 2023 Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have successfully put up 36 more satellites to the intended orbit for their client Network Access Associates Ltd, United Kingdom (A OneWeb Group Company). Much earlier, in year 2022 ISRO had signed an agreement with Network Access Associates UK, to put up total 72 satellites to their intended orbits, 450 KM higher than earth.
ISRO had previously launched a mission on October 23, 2022 to put up first 36 OneWeb satellites to the space, mission had gone successful. Now again today, on March 26, 2023 in a second flight for OneWeb, ISRO successfully accomplished the mission of putting up second 36 OneWeb satellites to the intended orbit.
OneWeb is a satellite constellation which is intended to provide the internet access to far flung areas of the world where reaching via ground infrastructure is very difficult or even impossible or not practice at all. OneWeb also have aviation industry as their intended customers. OneWeb a is a network very similar to SpaceX’s StarLink project.
OneWeb network currently have more the 600 satellites in the space, however, only just 72 of them were put up from India by using the ISRO’s services. As the ISRO have been able to successfully deliver the payloads in their intended orbits for the OneWeb, it is huge possibility that ISRO may get contract of putting up more satellites to their orbits for OneWeb network.
Until now via 18 different missions, which included 13 Roscosmos (Russian space agency) mission, three SpaceX missions and two ISRA missions, OneWeb have put up approximately 620 satellites to their intended orbits. These included 6 test satellites and all other were operational gen 1 satellites. Soon via a mission scheduled in May, via a SpaceX mission, OneWeb will put up more gen 1 satellites and one test gen 2 satellite.
So, to put up their satellites to intended orbits, OneWeb is not relying on any specific service provider, they are trying out all different options, as they already have had multiple contracts will Russian Roscosmos, Indian ISRA and SpaceX, a private entity from United States.
Specially contracts with SpaceX are bit out of ordinary, as SpaceX is direct competitor of OneWeb with its StarLink constellation. However, good to see that Elon Musk is open minded enough to let their competitors use their services.