On schedule to cover 50 degrees latitude and above by June 2021, with service ready to start by the end of the year
by Suman Gupta
Mumbai, 26 April 2021: Bharti group backed OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, today confirmed the successful launch of another batch of 36 satellites by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Watch the liftoff – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAMqCWsPODQ
This successful launch brings OneWeb’s total in-orbit constellation to 182 satellites. These will form part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity, and represents 60 percent of the constellation required to enable its connectivity solution to reach all regions north of 50 degrees latitude by June 2021.
This was the third in a five-launch ‘Five to 50’ programme, enabling OneWeb to offer services across the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Artic Seas and Canada, and will be switched on before the end of the year. OneWeb then intends to make global service available in 2022.
Neil Masterson, CEO, OneWeb commented: “These are exciting times at OneWeb as we get ever closer to bringing our connectivity services to some of the world’s hardest to reach places. With this successful launch, we are rapidly building momentum: we are launching more satellites, demonstrating the network and announcing more distribution singings around the globe. We have a world class team and product, and alongside our supportive shareholders, OneWeb continues to work towards bringing connectivity to everyone, everywhere.”
OneWeb also continues to grow rapidly as it sees increasing demand across its customer base. The company has recently announced distribution signings across multiple industries with more signings to be announced in the coming weeks as OneWeb expands its global capabilities. OneWeb also agreed its latest MoU with the Government of Kazakhstan this month as it continues to demonstrate the company’s commercial viability and the confidence customers have in its services and offering.
Launch Partner: Arianespace and Glavkosmos
Launch Facility: Soyuz Launch Complex, Vostochny Cosmodrome
About OneWeb:OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at http://www.oneweb.world
