The next Soyuz launch is planned as soon as December 2020 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Pursuant to an amended launch contract with OneWeb, the London-based communications company, Arianespace will perform 16 more Soyuz launches from three spaceports (Kourou, Baikonur and Vostochny) beginning in late 2020 and continuing through 2022.
These launches will enable OneWeb to complete the deployment of its full global constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites by the end of 2022.
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Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, explained, “I am delighted that we are back on track to support the deployment of the OneWeb constellation and the company’s mission to bridge the digital divide at a global scale.”
The next Soyuz flight is scheduled for December 2020 from Vostochny with 36 satellites on board.
Arianespace has launched 74 OneWeb satellites to date. The initial six were successfully orbited by Soyuz Flight VS21 from French Guiana in February 2019. In February and March 2020, Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate successfully launched 68 OneWeb satellites from Baikonur on Soyuz Flights ST27 and ST28.
“Our teams already are working hard to ensure a smooth and quick restart of the launch campaigns by year-end 2020,” Israël added.
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In addition to the satellites, OneWeb’s global network will include gateway stations located around the world, and a range of user terminals will provide connectivity services for fixed and mobile communications. These terminals will be compatible with the future needs of the internet of things (IoT) and 5G.
OneWeb Satellites – a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space – is the constellation’s prime contractor. The OneWeb satellites are built in OneWeb Satellites’ Florida-based series production line that is dedicated to the assembly, integration, and test of OneWeb’s satellites.
Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits.
It has orbited more than 740 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, DC, Tokyo and Singapore.
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