The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said Sunday that it had successfully launched its heaviest rocket carrying 36 satellites owned by London-based satellite company OneWeb into orbit.
The LVM3 rocket was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 12:07 a.m. local time carrying 36 OneWeb satellites and weighing 5,796 kilograms in total, according to the agency.
ISRO said the satellites detached successfully from the rocket and were dispensed in nine phases over a period of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
“Today’s event is very historic to the country and the Indian Space Programme. This is the first-ever commercial launch of LVM3 with the heaviest payload to [low earth orbit],” ISRO chairman Somanath S. said in a statement….