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OneWeb on Friday confirmed the successful deployment of 40 satellites launched by SpaceX, from the Kennedy Space Center. This is OneWeb’s 15th launch till date and the second since it resumed its campaign with a successful launch from India in October, putting the company on track to deliver global coverage in 2023.
SpaceX had agreed to launch satellites for OneWeb after the London-based company broke ties with Russia in March, following the war. With 502 satellites in orbit, OneWeb has almost 80 per cent of its first-generation constellations completed, with only three more launches now remaining to reach global coverage. The launch is considered a significant milestone as the company will be able to expand service and initiate connectivity solutions soon to areas including the US, southern Europe and North Africa, northern India, the Middle East, Japan, southern Australia, South Africa and parts of South America.
OneWeb already has connectivity solutions active today in Alaska, Canada, the UK, Greenland and the wider Arctic area, with more locations covered to provide internet connectivity to unserved and underserved rural and remote communities and businesses. Working with local partners such as telecommunications companies, internet service providers and local governments, OneWeb’s wholesale services can deliver high-speed, low-latency solutions for cellular backhaul, community Wi-Fi, remote enterprise use cases, and soon for the aviation and maritime industries, it said in a statement.
OneWeb is expected to return to the launchpad in early 2023 to launch its ‘Three to Global Reality’ campaign that will deliver its final satellites into its LEO constellation and activate coverage solutions globally. Today, OneWeb continues working with key distribution partners and customers to roll out connectivity solutions everywhere above 50 degrees north, where its services are already live, it added.
“This launch is an immensely gratifying way to close out 2022, bringing OneWeb another step closer to activating our space-based connectivity globally and reflecting the shared ambition and collective goodwill that is driving the satellite communications industry,” said Neil Masterson, Chief Executive Officer of OneWeb.
“We are thankful for the support of other leaders in the space industry allowing us to quickly restart our launch campaign and we are delighted to work with SpaceX today for our first-ever launch from Florida, the home where our satellites are manufactured. As we look to our final ‘Three to Global Reality’ launches in the first half of 2023, we are thrilled to see our connectivity footprint dramatically expand from today, and to soon activate our network globally to reach remote and under-served areas of the world,” he added.
