OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) global satellite communications company, is preparing for the launch and deployment of 36 satellites at 02:47 GMT Thursday 25 March by Arianespace for the second time from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
This will be the second of five launches that will enable OneWeb to deliver connectivity services north of 50 degrees latitude by the end of the 2021. These initial regional services will begin in the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, and Canada, with global service becoming available in 2022. This is OneWeb’s fifth launch, which will bring the total in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites, part of the company’s 648 LEO fleet designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.
OneWeb continues hiring at a fast pace with over 200 employees joining since the autumn. The company is continuing to build its global ground station network and is pushing forward on user terminal development including a $73 million contract with Intellian to provide compact, affordable user terminals for enterprise and government applications.
Last week, furthering its aspirations in the global aerospace arena to deliver high speed, reliable wifi inflight, OneWeb announced an agreement with leading multi-beam antenna and terminal design specialist SatixFy UK. Together they will develop a new Inflight Connectivity (IFC) terminal over the OneWeb network, as well as Geostationary (GEO) satellite networks.
OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture with Airbus, is manufacturing the satellites and has returned to full production. In addition, OneWeb has already secured global ITU priority spectrum rights.
In early March, OneWeb conducted its first demonstrations #OneWebDemo of the year showcasing its high-speed, low latency network capabilities for the U.S. Government.