Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s heaviest rocket LVM3-M2 was launched from the space station on Sunday and placed 36 broadband communication satellites in Low Orbit (LEO) for a UK-based customer. ISRO has termed it as a historic mission. NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, signed two launch service contracts with London-headquartered Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) to launch OneWeb Leo satellites on board ISRO's LVM3 formerly Were.

On Sunday, the 43.5-metre-tall rocket was launched at 12.07 pm from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center here at the end of the 24-hour countdown. This rocket has the capacity to carry satellites up to 8,000 kg into space. This mission is significant as it is the first commercial mission of LVM 3 and also the first mission of NSIL with the launch vehicle. According to ISRO, it has become the first Indian rocket to go to space with 36 satellites of OneWeb weighing 5,796 kg in the mission.

On Sunday, ISRO Chairman S. Somnath announced that the Diwali festival has started early for the scientists working in the space agency. ISRO tweeted, LVM3 M2 / OneWeb India-1 mission successfully completed. All the 36 satellites have been placed in the designated orbits. Minutes before this, Somnath had announced that 16 satellites have been placed in desired orbits while the rest will take some more time to be placed. All 36 satellites were placed in orbit about 75 minutes after the rocket's launch from the space center here.

Addressing the gathering at the Mission Control Centre, Somnath said Diwali celebrations have begun at the Satish Dhawan Space Center with LVM3 and its first commercial mission being successfully placed in orbit. Earlier, he had said, now the rocket has entered the orbit, out of 36 satellites, 16 satellites have already entered the orbit. Let me tell you that this is a slow process of separating satellites.