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Eutelsat OneWeb

13 'OneWeb' stories December 2020 - March 2023
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Eutelsat OneWeb, or simply OneWeb, is a satellite internet provider with a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit. Similar to SpaceX’s Starlink service, the company offers internet services in areas that are hard to service with traditional cable lines.

OneWeb actually predates Starlink by several years. Being founded by Greg Wyler in 2012 as WorldVu, SpaceX was actually an early partner to potentially manufacture the satellites and launch them into orbit. Instead, SpaceX founder Elon Musk decided to start his own service instead of partnering with Wyler. However, the two companies would partner back up after OneWeb lost its ride to space.

A row of OneWeb satellites attached to a payload dispenser ahead of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. Credit: OneWeb

The key difference between OneWeb and Starlink is the market each is going for. OneWeb has been after business and government partnerships while Starlink has been direct to consumer.

OneWeb began launching its satellites in 2019 on Soyuz-2 launch vehicles. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, OneWeb had to finish its constellation using SpaceX Falcon 9s and the Indian LVM 3. In March of 2023, OneWeb completed its operational constellation of 588 satellites, allowing it to provide service worldwide. Any launches beyond this point would serve as backups.

OneWeb constellation nearly complete despite 36 satellites still stuck in Baikonur

Avatar for Theresa Cross Mar 22 2023 - 12:14 pm PT
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OneWeb is nearing the completion of its broadband internet constellation, a project that’s overcome a number of setbacks over the years, including a global pandemic and Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.

The company’s most recent batch launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 9, 2023. A final dedicated launch from India is expected within the next week. However, the original plan was to fly all of the constellation’s satellites atop Russia’s Soyuz rocket.

That was before Russia’s war in Ukraine, which resulted in the suspension of all Soyuz launches for Western customers. That included OneWeb, which now has 36 spacecraft worth an estimated $50 million dollars stuck at Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site with no clear resolution for getting the satellites back.

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OneWeb returns with first launch from India; mega-constellation over 70% complete

Avatar for Seth Kurkowski Oct 25 2022 - 1:34 pm PT
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oneweb launch india

It’s not often that we discuss the launch of a mega constellation other than Starlink, but over the weekend, OneWeb became the first commercial launch on India’s largest rocket. This was also the company’s return to launching since it broke ties with Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

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After ditching Russia, OneWeb befriends SpaceX to launch satellites

Avatar for Derek Wise Mar 21 2022 - 6:39 am PT
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the world’s sanctions to the country, led the country to refuse to launch OneWeb satellites on a Soyuz rocket unless OneWeb agreed to almost unreachable terms. Thankfully, the company has now found a somewhat unlikely ally in SpaceX, which has its own Starlink satellites that compete with OneWeb.

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