(OneWeb)
OneWeb has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch the remaining batches of Internet satellites.
Previously, they were delivered into orbit by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, which refused to launch.
OneWeb is one of two large orbital constellations of next-generation internet satellites, the other is SpaceX's Starlink.
These systems differ in scale, but are similar in general approach, the new systems consist of hundreds or more satellites in low orbits.
The planned size of the OneWeb constellation is 648 devices, and SpaceX has already launched more than two thousand and plans to increase their number to tens of thousands.
This allows for low latency and high throughput for a large number of clients around the world, but requires many launches.
OneWeb initially planned to launch its satellites on the Russian Soyuz and LauncherOne from Virgin Galactic.
However, they eventually abandoned the second company, and in fact, until recently, all devices were launched by Roscosmos.
The first launch took place on February 28, 2019, and the last on February 10, 2022.
On March 2, after Russian troops entered the territory of Ukraine, and three days before the next launch, Roscosmos requested a guarantee from the launch partner Arianespace and OneWeb itself that the satellites would not be used for military purposes.
The next day, OneWeb decided to cancel launches from Baikonur, and a day later, Roscosmos stopped preparing for them.
Now it became known that OneWeb managed to agree that the remaining 220 devices will be launched into orbit by SpaceX. It is planned that the first launch will take place in 2022.
The companies do not disclose the details of the cooperation, but it is likely that the vehicles will be launched by the Falcon 9 rocket.
In fact, this means that both global constellations of satellite Internet that have reached the implementation stage will now be built with the help of SpaceX.
Like Starlink, OneWeb is in beta testing, the network is currently operating on the 50th parallel and above.
Source: