New twist in the tumultuous journey of the constellation of OneWeb satellites. While its launches from Baikonur have been blocked by the Russians because of the war in Ukraine, the Anglo-Indian company will probably be saved thanks to an agreement signed in extremis… with SpaceX.
Guaranteed launches this year
Elon Musk’s company will ensure the next launches this year, as announced today in a press release. A surprise since the OneWeb service is a long-time competitor to that of Starlink, which belongs to SpaceX. Both services aim to provide Internet access from space through a constellation of low-orbit satellites.
This agreement is also a snub to the Russians who thought they were sinking OneWeb. They had set impossible conditions to ensure the launches in Kazakhstan, such as the withdrawal of the British government from the capital and the assurance that the service would not be used for military use.
The board of directors had responded by refusing their ultimatum. The director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, then promised bankruptcy to OneWeb.
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428 satellites already operational
Taken aback, OneWeb had announced its intention to collaborate with the French Arianespace. But there still had to be slots available. It was therefore ultimately with the American SpaceX that he found solutions.
OneWeb originally planned to put 36 spacecraft into orbit this spring thanks to Russia. 428 satellites are currently operational, ie 66% of the total planned fleet. The service is already accessible above the 50th parallel North.
This new chapter comes as OneWeb was just emerging from a very difficult period. The pandemic in 2020 had pushed Softbank to withdraw from its shareholding, leading the company to the brink of bankruptcy until it was taken over by a consortium including the British government and the Indian telecommunications group Bharti Global. The French Eutelsat entered as an investor the following year. It is also a stakeholder in the similar European project promoted by Commissioner Thierry Breton.