{"id":22017,"date":"2023-03-24T01:29:59","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T17:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/oneweb-constellation-nearly-complete-despite-36-satellites-still-stuck-in-baikonur\/"},"modified":"2023-03-24T01:29:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T17:29:59","slug":"oneweb-constellation-nearly-complete-despite-36-satellites-still-stuck-in-baikonur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/oneweb-constellation-nearly-complete-despite-36-satellites-still-stuck-in-baikonur\/","title":{"rendered":"OneWeb constellation nearly complete despite 36 satellites still stuck in Baikonur"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-border featured-image\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1333\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?w=320&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?w=640&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?w=1024&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?w=1500&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1500w\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-attachment-id=\"34839\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2023\/03\/22\/oneweb-constellation-baikonur\/fipzukcxwaeatrt\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?quality=82&amp;strip=all\" data-orig-size=\"1672,1254\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"oneweb falcon-9\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\n\n<p>Image: OneWeb<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FiPZuKcXwAEaTrt.jpeg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024&#8243;><figcaption>\n\t\t\t\tImage: OneWeb\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OneWeb is nearing the completion of its broadband internet constellation, a project that\u2019s overcome a number of setbacks over the years, including a global pandemic and Europe\u2019s largest conflict since World War II.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The company\u2019s 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\u2019s satellites atop Russia\u2019s Soyuz rocket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was before Russia\u2019s 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\u2019s Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site with no clear resolution for getting the satellites back.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-34836\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI spend no time thinking about it. We\u2019ve completely moved on,\u201d said Neil Masterson, CEO of OneWeb, in a March 15 Reuters article.\u201dThere is value getting them back, but I can tell you that I\u2019m not getting them back any time soon.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\t<span class=\"outbrain-ad-label\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<script type=\"text\/plain\">\n\t\t\twindow.adSlotsConfig = window.adSlotsConfig || [];<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tadSlotsConfig.push( {\n\t\t\t\tslotID: '\/1049447\/Outbrain',\n\t\t\t\tslotName: 'div-gpt-ad-outbrain-ad-34836',\n\t\t\t\tsizes: [300, 250],\n\t\t\t\tslotPosition: 'mid_article'\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Masterson said in the article that the company is deferring any future retrieval efforts to government authorities. \u201cThe bigger issue for us was not so much the satellites, it was securing the launches,\u201d Masters said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March of 2020, OneWeb filed for bankruptcy. The company said the coronavirus pandemic impacted its ability to raise capital during the spring of 2020, prompting a reorganization bankruptcy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By July of 2020, it was announced that a consortium of the government of the United Kingdom and Bharti Global Limited had committed to purchase the company and fully fund the restart of its business operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, OneWeb utilized 13 of Russia\u2019s Soyuz rockets to fly its satellites between 2019 and 2022 \u2014 some from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, and others from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. More than 400 spacecraft were launched into the constellation during those missions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"34841\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2023\/03\/22\/oneweb-constellation-baikonur\/frqinrvx0aeo7zb\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?quality=82&amp;strip=all\" data-orig-size=\"1064,1460\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"lvm 3 oneweb\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\n\n<p>A batch of 36 OneWeb satellites being encapsulated for launch atop India\u2019s LVM-3 rocket. Credit: OneWeb<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;w=746&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg&#8221; alt=&#8221;&#8221; class=&#8221;wp-image-34841&#8243; width=&#8221;358&#8243; height=&#8221;491&#8243; srcset=&#8221;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg 1064w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=219,300 219w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=768,1054 768w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=746,1024 746w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=255,350 255w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=140,192 140w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=729,1000 729w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/FrQinRVX0AEO7ZB.jpeg?resize=150,206 150w&#8221; sizes=&#8221;(max-width: 358px) 100vw, 358px&#8221;><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A row of OneWeb satellites attached to a payload dispenser ahead of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. Credit: OneWeb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the war started in February 2022, there was another set of 36 OneWeb satellites mounted and ready to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 4, 2022. However, Russia\u2019s space chief at the time had requested the company guarantee the satellites would not be used against Russia, with further demands that the United Kingdom sell its interest in OneWeb.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the satellites were not launched, and are still being held in Kazakhstan. The continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, along with sanctions against Russia, sent OneWeb looking elsewhere to launch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After negotiations, it achieved an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization and SpaceX. Two batches would launch atop India\u2019s LVM-3 rocket while three batches would be atop SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket. A fourth Falcon 9 is expected to be used to send satellite spares into orbit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final dedicated launch, currently set for March 26 in India, signals the last major OneWeb satellite deployment before starting global service for government and business customers alike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are currently 582 active OneWeb satellites orbiting in low Earth orbit. OneWeb planned for 588 satellites, not including spares, in order to provide global broadband internet coverage. The launch from India is expected to add 36 additional spacecraft to the constellation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fourth Falcon 9 launch is expected to send as many as 15 OneWeb satellites (as well as a second generation test satellite) alongside several Iridium Next spacecraft as early as May 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A row of OneWeb satellites attached to a payload dispenser ahead of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. Credit: OneWeb When the war started in February 2022, there was another set of 36 OneWeb satellites mounted and ready to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 4, 2022. However, Russia\u2019s space chief at the time had requested [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22017"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}