OneWeb secured a contract with SpaceX, allowing the company to resume its launch efforts. The deal comes several weeks after the company lost access to Soyuz rockets as part of the collateral damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With these launch plans in place, we’re on track to finish building out our full fleet of satellites and deliver robust, fast, secure connectivity around the globe.
– OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson
The deal calls for the first OneWeb launch on SpaceX before the end of the year. OneWeb’s in-orbit constellation currently stands at 428 satellites, two thirds of the planned total.
The company had been launching approximately 36 satellites per Soyuz mission over the past couple years. The company previously planned five more launches in five month. Obviously part of that slipped with the Soyuz issues.
The SpaceX rocket, however, offers significantly more payload capacity. If the companies can manage the loading of the rocket correctly it could reduce the number of launches required.
While the company has not offered an updated timeline for completing the constellation, it is hard to see the company make its originally proposed timeline. That said, the company has activated services north of 50 degrees latitude and its partners are activating service.
Separately, OneWeb announced Speedcast as a distribution partner, adding another channel for its capacity. The agreement will add OneWeb’s enterprise-grade, high-speed LEO connectivity to the Speedcast platform, which is one of the largest technology-agnostic networks in the world, seamlessly adding LEO as a connectivity pathway, joining GEO, MEO and 4G/5G for high-demand applications.
The companies expect to enter customer trials in mid-2022, bringing in LEO service for Speedcast’s energy and enterprise customers followed by maritime mobility in 2023.
Speaking to the deal, Joe Spytek, Chief Executive Officer at Speedcast notes, “Our collaboration with OneWeb speaks to both organizations’ alignment in meeting customers’ needs for comprehensive solutions enabling the highest levels of performance. LEO will be an important component in our Speedcast portfolio of managed communications paths, from GEO and MEO to 4G and 5G terrestrial wireless.”
More news from SATShow 2022
- OneWeb secures launch plan with SpaceX, capacity deal with Speedcast
- Is Starlink finally ready for commercial flight?
- Hughes shows off flat panel antenna for OneWeb service
- Two more ESAs prepare for flight
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