List of LVM3 launches

This article lists all the previous and planned launches by ISRO using LVM3 rockets. As of December 2024, there have been seven launches of LVM3, with all of them being successful.

LVM3 M4 lifting off from SDSC SLP, carrying Chandrayaan-3 (2023)

Notable missions

Flight X

Main article: Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment

LVM3-X lifting off

The maiden flight of the LVM3 lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on 18 December 2014 at 04:00 UTC.^[1] The test had functional boosters, a core stage but carried dummy upper stage whose LOX and LH₂ tanks were filled with LN₂ and GN₂ respectively for simulating weight. It also carried the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) that was tested on re-entry.^[2]

Just over five minutes into the flight, the rocket ejected CARE at an altitude of 126 kilometres (78 mi), which then descended, controlled by its onboard reaction control system. During the test, CARE's heat shield experienced a peak temperature of around 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). ISRO downlinked launch telemetry during the ballistic coasting phase until the radio black-out to avoid data loss in the event of a failure. At an altitude of around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi), the module's apex cover separated and the parachutes were deployed. CARE splashed down in the Bay of Bengal near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was recovered successfully.^[3][4][5][6]

Chandrayaan

Main articles: Chandrayaan 2 and Chandrayaan 3

Following the failure of Phobos-Grunt mission of Roscosmos, it resulted in a complete review of technical aspects connected with the spacecraft, which were also slotted to be used in the proposed Russian lander for Chandrayaan-2. This delayed the lander from Russia and eventually Roscosmos declared its inability to meet up with the revised time of 2015 for its launch on board an uprated GSLV rocket along with an Indian orbiter and rover. ISRO cancelled the Russian agreement and decided to go alone with its project with marginal changes.^[7][8]

On 22 July 2019, the LVM3 M1 (GSLV Mk.III M1) rocket lifted off with 3850 kg Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter-Lander composite and successfully injected it into a parking orbit of 169.7 x 45,475 km. This marked the first operational flight of LVM3 after two developmental flights.^[9] The apogee of the earth parking orbit is about 6,000 km more than originally envisaged and thereby eliminated one of the seven earth-bound orbit raising manoeuvres. It was attributed to a 15 percentage increase in rocket performance.^[10][11] On 14 July 2023, the LVM3 M4 rocket successfully injected the 3900 kg Chandrayaan-3 composite to a parking orbit of 170 x 36,500 km.^[12] On 15 November 2023, the Cryogenic Upper Stage (C25) of the LVM3 M4 (NORAD ID: 57321) made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere around 9:12 UTC. The impact point is predicted over the North Pacific Ocean and the final ground track did not pass over India.^[13][14][15]

OneWeb

Main article: Eutelsat OneWeb

LVM3 M3 OneWeb India-2 Mission

On 21 March 2022, OneWeb announced that it had signed a launch agreement with United States launch provider SpaceX to launch the remaining 1st generation satellites on Falcon 9 rockets, with the first launch expected no earlier than summer 2022.^[16][17] On 20 April 2022 OneWeb announced a similar deal with NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation.^[18] OneWeb satellites were deployed by LVM3 both on 22 October 2022 and 26 March 2023^[19] using a lightly modified version of the satellite dispenser previously used on Soyuz.^[20][21]

Post C25 Shut-off Phase Flight Profile

The first batch of 36 OneWeb Gen-1 satellites weighing a total of 5796 kg was launched onboard LVM3 M2 rocket codenamed OneWeb India-1 Mission on 22 October 2022 and the satellites were injected to a low earth orbit of 601 km altitude and 87.4° inclination on a sequential basis. This constituted the first commercial mission and the first multi-satellite mission to low earth orbit of the rocket, marking its entry to global commercial launch service market. The separation of satellites involved a unique maneuver of the cryogenic stage to undergo several re-orientation and velocity additions covering 9 phases spanning 75 minutes.^[22][23] On 26 March 2023, codenamed OneWeb India-2 Mission, the second batch of 36 satellites was launched onboard LVM3 M3 and injected to an altitude of 450 km with same inclination. The launch featured a white cryogenic stage which takes into account environmental-friendly manufacturing processes, better insulation properties and the use of lightweight materials.^[24][25]

Statistics

LVM3 currently has accumulated a total of 7 launches, as of 19 July 2023^[update]. Of these, all 7 have been successful, giving it a cumulative success rate of 100%.

1

2

3

4

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

2026

•   Failure
•   Partial failure
•   Success
•   Planned

Decade-wise summary of LVM3 launches

Decade	Successful	Partial success	Failure	Total
2010s	4	0	0	4[26]
2020s	3	0	0	3[27]
Total	7	0	0	7

Launch history

2014–2019
Date/Time (UTC)	Payload	Launch Site	Regime	Status
		Flight Number	Operator	Function
	Remarks
18 December 2014 4:00	CARE 3,775 kg (8,322 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	Sub-orbital	Success
		LVM3 X	ISRO	Re-entry Module
	Sub-orbital developmental test flight with a non-functional cryogenic stage. The CARE module separated from the launch vehicle at an intended altitude of 126 km at a speed of 5.3 km/s. The launch validated the ignition, performance and separation aspects of S200 and L110 stages.[28][29][30]
5 June 2017 11:58	GSAT-19 3,136 kg (6,914 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Success
		GSLV Mk III D1 (LVM3 D1)	INSAT	Communication
	First developmental test launch with an operational cryogenic engine. The satellite was successfully injected to a parking orbit of 170 x 35,975 km with 21.5° inclination. The launch featured an ogive fairing and slanted nose cones on S200 stages to improve aerodynamic performance.[31][32][33]
14 November 2018 11:38	GSAT-29 3,423 kg (7,546 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Success
		GSLV Mk III D2 (LVM3 D2)	INSAT	Communication
	Second developmental test flight in full operational configuration. The satellite was successfully injected to an elongated parking orbit of 190 x 35,975 km with 21.5° inclination. L110 core used upgraded High Thrust Vikas Engines (HTVE). Developmental test flights of the rocket has completed.[34][35][36]
22 July 2019 09:13	Chandrayaan-2 3,850 kg (8,490 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	EPO	Success
		GSLV Mk III M1 (LVM3 M1)	ISRO	Lunar Composite
	First operational launch of the rocket and successfully injected a lunar Orbiter-Lander-Rover composite spacecraft to a parking orbit of 169.7 x 45,475 km. Chairman stated a 15 percentage increment in vehicle performance which eliminated one of the scheduled seven earth-bound orbit raising burns.[11][37][38]
2022–2023
Date/Time (UTC)	Payload	Launch Site	Regime	Status
		Flight Number	Operator	Function
	Remarks
22 October 2022 18:37	36 x OneWeb Gen-1 5,796 kg (12,778 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Success
		LVM3 M2	OneWeb	Broadband Internet
	First commercial launch of the rocket under NSIL and its first multi-satellite mission to low earth orbit of 601 km. The cryogenic stage performed multiple reorientation and velocity addition maneuvers to sequentially dispose the satellites. The rocket made its entry to global commercial launch service market.[22][39][23]
26 March 2023 03:30	36 x OneWeb Gen-1 5,805 kg (12,798 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Success
		LVM3 M3	OneWeb	Broadband Internet
	Second batch of 36 OneWeb Gen-1 satellites launched successfully to low earth orbit of 450 km with 87.4° inclination. The launch featured a white cryogenic stage (C25) which has more environmental-friendly manufacturing processes, better insulation properties and the use of lightweight materials.[25][24][40]
14 July 2023 09:05	Chandrayaan-3 3,895 kg (8,587 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	EPO	Success
		LVM3 M4	ISRO	Lunar Composite
	The rocket successfully injected a lunar composite spacecraft of Propulsion Module-Lander-Rover into an elliptical parking orbit of 170 x 36,500 km. On 15 November, the Cryogenic Upper Stage of the rocket made an uncontrolled re-entry around 9:12 UTC over the North Pacific Ocean.[41][42][43]

Future launches

Date/Time (UTC)	Payload	Launch Site	Regime	Status
		Flight Number	Operator	Function
	Remarks
Q3-Q4 2025[44][45]	BlueBird 6 (1 satellite)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
		LVM3 M5	AST SpaceMobile	Communications
	Commercial launch under NSIL.[46] Cellphone-compatible broadband constellation. The next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite delivers 10x the bandwidth of BlueBird Block 1 satellites, allowing continuous cellular broadband service coverage. It will feature a ~2,400 sq ft (220 m2) communications array, the largest ever developed commercially.[47]
Q2 2026	GSAT-32 (GSAT-N3)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Planned
			INSAT	Communication
	[48]
NET 2027	GSAT-22	Satish Dhawan- SLP	GTO	Planned
			INSAT	Communication
	[48]
NET 2027	GSAT-23	Satish Dhawan- SLP	GTO	Planned
			INSAT	Communication
	[48]
NET 2027	Chandrayaan-4 Propulsion Module Chandrayaan-4 Lander Module Chandrayaan-4 Ascender Module	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Planned
		LVM3 SC	ISRO
	[49][50][51]
NET 2027	Chandrayaan-4 Transfer Module Chandrayaan-4 Re-entry Module	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Planned
		LVM3 SC	ISRO
	[49][50][51]
29 March 2028	Venus Orbiter Mission	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Planned
			ISRO
	[52][53][54]
NET 2028	Mars Lander Mission	Satish Dhawan - SLP	GTO	Planned
			ISRO
	[55][56][57]
NET 2028	BAS-B1[58] 9,186 kg (20,252 lb)	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
			ISRO	Space Station
	First module launch of Bharatiya Antariksha Station.[58]
2028-30	NVS-06 (IRNSS-1O) NVS-07 (IRNSS-1P) NVS-08 (IRNSS-1Q) NVS-09 (IRNSS-1R)	Satish Dhawan - SLP		Planned
			ISRO
	[59][60][61]
NET 2030	BAS-B2[62][63]	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
			ISRO	Space Station
	Second module launch of Bharatiya Antariksha Station.
NET 2031-32	Lunar Navcom × 3	Satish Dhawan - SLP	Selenocentric	Planned
			ISRO
	First of Two launches carrying 3 satellites for Lunar Navcom Data Relay and Navigation satellite.[64][65]
NET 2031-32	Lunar Navcom × 3	Satish Dhawan - SLP	Selenocentric	Planned
			ISRO
	Second of Two launches carrying 3 satellites for Lunar Navcom Data Relay and Navigation satellite.[66][67]
NET 2032	BAS-B5[62][68]	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
			ISRO	Space Station
	Fifth module launch of Bharatiya Antariksha Station.
NET 2033	BAS-B3[62][69]	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
			ISRO	Space Station
	Third module launch of Bharatiya Antariksha Station.
NET 2034	BAS-B4[62][70]	Satish Dhawan - SLP	LEO	Scheduled
			ISRO	Space Station
	Fourth module launch of Bharatiya Antariksha Station.

Human-rated missions

Further information: Indian Human Spaceflight Programme

Launch Log

Date/Time (UTC)	Payload	Launch Site	Regime	Status
		Flight Number	Operator	Function
	Remarks
Orbital Test Flights
Q4 2025[71]	G1[72]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO	Integration and testing
		HLVM3	ISRO	Test flight
	The sixth operational flight of the LVM3 rocket and the first test flight of the Gaganyaan capsule . The spacecraft will be launched into an orbit of 170×408 km, perform a circularization burn, and test re-entry and recovery sequences in ocean waters .The spacecraft will carry the Humanoid robot Vyommitra, accompanied by scientific payloads including fruit flies to simulate the effects of radiation exposure and microgravity on the human body. During the flight various experiments will be carried out for future crewed missions. Currently the capsule is in the final stages of integration and validation and the launch is expected in late 2025.[73]
NET 2026[74]	G2[72]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO	Planned
		HLVM3	ISRO	Test flight
	Second orbital test flight of Gaganyaan spacecraft.[73]
NET 2026[74]	G3[72]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO	Planned
		HLVM3	ISRO	Test flight
	Third orbital test flight of Gaganyaan spacecraft.[75]
Crewed Flights
Q1 2027[74]	H1[72]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO	Planned
		HLVM3	ISRO	Crewed mission
	First crewed flight of Gaganyaan spacecraft, carrying one to three Indian astronauts on a short orbital test flight.[76][77] Launch mass is 7,800 kg (17,200 lb) with service module, capsule's mass is 3,735 kg (8,234 lb).[78][79]
TBA	H2[58]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO	Scheduled
		HLVM3	ISRO
	Second crewed flight of Gaganyaan spacecraft, carrying one to three Indian astronauts on a short orbital test flight.[58] Launch mass is 7,800 kg (17,200 lb) with service module, capsule's mass is 3,735 kg (8,234 lb).[78][79]
Cargo Flights
TBA	G4[58]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO (ISS)	Scheduled
		HLVM3	ISRO	Resupply Spacecraft
	ISRO’s first ISS cargo resupply mission.[58]
TBA	G5[58]	LP2 - SDSC SHAR	LEO (BAS)	Scheduled
		HLVM3	ISRO	Resupply Spacecraft
	ISRO’s first BAS cargo resupply mission.[58]

See also

• List of GSLV launches
• List of PSLV launches
• List of SSLV launches