Eutelsat OneWeb (formerly OneWeb) is a satellite communications company aiming to bridge the digital divide by providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet services globally via a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. As a subsidiary of Eutelsat Group, it focuses on delivering connectivity solutions to governments, enterprises, and communities in underserved areas, as well as to the maritime and aviation sectors. Key partners include distribution partners, Airbus (through OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture for satellite manufacturing), and technology providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS for network peering.
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Reaching OneWeb’s interim coverage goal north of 50 degrees latitude requires launching two additional batches of 36 satellites.
Arianespace’s 2021-04-25 launch for OneWeb advances OneWeb toward an interim goal to expand coverage north of 50 degrees latitude by June.
The 36 OneWeb satellites will raise themselves to an operational orbit at an altitude of 1,200 km.
OneWeb plans to deliver broadband services to enterprise, government, maritime, and aviation customers beginning in 2022.
OneWeb-0178’s course was adjusted after it was projected to come close to the Starlink-1546 satellite that launched in September 2020.
Arianespace launched the 36 OneWeb satellites on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.
Arianespace has launched 182 OneWeb satellites through six Soyuz launches to date.
OneWeb launched an innovation challenge on 2021-04-23 that is open to businesses, academic, and research-based entities to find technologies that advance space-based connectivity.
Achieving the interim coverage goal would enable OneWeb to provide services across the entire United Kingdom before the end of 2021.
One of the satellites from OneWeb’s previous batch of 36 launched 2021-03-25 could have come too close to SpaceX’s Starlink-1546 satellite.
The 13 additional Soyuz launches will enable OneWeb to complete deployment of its full global low Earth orbit constellation by the end of 2022.
OneWeb’s low Earth orbit broadband constellation reached 182 satellites after Arianespace launched 36 spacecraft on 2021-04-25.
OneWeb-0178 was one of 36 satellites launched on 2021-03-25 on a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.
By the time OneWeb executed its 2021-04-03 maneuver, refined orbital data indicated the probability of collision had dropped below any threshold that required a maneuver.
LeoLabs estimated the actual close approach distance between OneWeb-0178 and Starlink-1546 to be 1,72 m using its own data.
The U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron projected on 2021-03-30 that OneWeb-0178 and Starlink-1546 would come within about 60 m of each other with a 1.3% chance of collision on 2021-04-03 based on initial estimates.
OneWeb maneuvered satellite OneWeb-0178 on 2021-04-03 to avoid a close approach with SpaceX Starlink-1546.
OneWeb is planning three more launches by June to cover north of 50 degrees latitude and expand coverage across the U.K., Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, and Canada.
This sixth launch benefiting OneWeb will increase the number of satellites deployed for OneWeb from 146 to 182.
OneWeb launched a batch of 36 satellites on a Soyuz-2.1b on 2021-03-25 to bring its total to 146 satellites.