Countdown begins tonight for launch of 36 satellites on ISRO's heaviest rocket LVM3
Bengaluru, Oct 21: Shortly after Friday midnight, the countdown will begin for the launch of 36 broadband communication satellites on board ISRO's heaviest rocket Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) from Sriharikota spaceport.
The launch of 'LVM3 - M2/OneWeb India-1 Mission' is scheduled at 0007 hours IST on October 23 (midnight of October 22).
OneWeb is a private satellite communications company. India's Bharti Enterprises is a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb.
It will mark the launcher's entry into the global commercial launch service market, according to the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency.
"A 24-hour countdown is slated to begin at 0007 hours on October 22," an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official said on Friday afternoon.
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, had earlier signed two launch service contracts with the London-headquartered Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) for launching OneWeb LEO (low earth orbit) satellites on board ISRO's LVM3.
"It is (the) first LVM3 dedicated commercial launch on demand through NSIL," NSIL, the space agency's commercial arm, had said.
"Another set of 36 OneWeb satellites will be launched by LVM3 in the first half of next year," an NSIL official told PTI.
"This contract with M/s OneWeb is a historic milestone for NSIL and ISRO, as LVM3, is making its entry into the global commercial launch service market," according to ISRO.
The newest rocket is capable of launching a four tonne class of satellite to Geosynchronous Transfer orbit (GTO).
LVM3 is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage.
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Karnataka electoral roll SIR exercise to begin from June 20
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka will begin SIR of electoral rolls from June 20 as part of a nationwide exercise covering 16 states and three Union territories, CEO Anbu Kumar said on Friday.
The drive will cover more than 5.55 crore electors in the state, he said.
As per the schedule notified by the Election Commission (EC), preparation, training and printing activities will be carried out from June 20 to June 29 and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct house-to-house visits from June 30 to July 29.
The rationalisation of polling stations is scheduled to be completed by July 29. The draft electoral roll will be published on August 5, following which claims and objections can be filed between August 5 and September 4.
The notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue from August 5 to October 3, and the final electoral roll will be published on October 7, it said.
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Addressing a press conference here, CEO Kumar said that in Karnataka, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer is fully prepared to proceed with the SIR of electoral rolls.
As part of this exercise, we have successfully mapped 86.46 per cent of our voters, he said.
"The primary objective of this entire exercise is to ensure that every eligible voter is enrolled, while simultaneously ensuring that no ineligible individuals are included in the voter list. Therefore, I seek the support and cooperation of all the voters of Karnataka, all political parties, and our friends from the media," he added.
According to the statement issued by the CEO's office, 59,050 BLOs will be involved in the SIR of the electoral roll in the state. The exercise will cover approximately 5,55,74,064 electors in the state as of May 12.
The SIR is a participative and transparent exercise involving electors, political parties and the election machinery. During the revision process, BLOs will undertake house-to-house visits for the distribution and collection of enumeration forms, the statement said.
Stating that there are currently 25,284 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by recognised political parties, the CEO urged all recognised political parties to appoint BLAs for every polling station to ensure active participation and transparency in the revision process.
Electors have been requested to cooperate with BLOs during the house-to-house distribution and collection of enumeration forms.
Further details regarding the revision process, forms and schedule will be made available on the official websites of the District Election Officers, the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, and the Election Commission of India, the statement said.
