ISRO conducted the flight acceptance hot test of the CE-20 engine in the High Altitude Test Facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) located in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. ISRO informed that the engine is assigned for the LVM3-M3 mission for launching the next 36 OneWeb India-1 satellites.

OneWeb, the London-based satellite Communications Company, is ready to deploy its 36 satellites in space. These satellites are expected to be launched by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the ISRO’s commercial arm, aboard LVM3 early next year.

NSIL is NewSpace India Limited, a PSU of the Government of India and commercial arm of ISRO, NSIL has inked two Launch service contracts with Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) for launching 72 OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites onboard the spacecraft LVM3. LVM3 is the heaviest rocket and can launch a four-ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer orbit.

The LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) is the same as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (GSLV-Mk3); it is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a core stage cryogenic stage, and a liquid propellant. It is India’s giant and most capable rocket.

The platform is expected to go up on an LVM3 rocket from Sriharikota Island, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The effort of deploying the OneWebs telecommunications network has been on hold since March it was forced to suspend the use of Russian Soyuz rockets.