OneWeb constellation

[Rondaz]

Today is rollout day! Our rocket has arrived at its final location and has been rolled out to the launchpad ready for liftoff in just over 2 days’ time. Head to our stories to see the full process

https://twitter.com/OneWeb/status/1374045948331048963

[Rondaz]

How does #Soyuz carry 36 @OneWeb’s satellites on a single launch? Using this advanced dispenser system from @RUAGSpace – which will deploy the payloads in nine sequences during a mission lasting nearly 4 hours. See you on March 25!

https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1374420210652880900

[Rondaz]

At our site in Titusville, Florida, we produce the backbone of the @OneWeb satellites. For the production of our satellite structures we use an automated potting machine to rapidly position special inserts filled with adhesive into the structure’s sandwich panels

https://twitter.com/RuagSpace/status/1374401671145558018

[Rondaz]

On Vostochny, the third launch day for the Soyuz-2 ILV

03.24.2021 09:30

At the Vostochny cosmodrome, intensive preparations are continuing for the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 36 OneWeb spacecraft on board. Today, March 24, 2021, specialists from subsidiaries of the State Corporation Roscosmos have started to perform operations on the third launch day.

Yesterday, work was carried out according to the schedule of the second launch day, which ended with general tests - checking the functioning of the systems of the launch complex with an imitation of the separation of the launch vehicle, its flight to the separation of the orbital block on a suborbital trajectory. The main content of the work today is the pouring of the filling system with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide and the cooling of the fuel.

So, at 02:50 Moscow time (08:50 local), the launch crew of the cosmodrome took their jobs and began checking the initial state: monitoring the initial state and battery charge of 36 spacecraft of the satellite company OneWeb. At 06:00 Moscow time, the pouring of the refueling system with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide began, then - the attachment of the refueling hoses to the space rocket and the final operations.

On the night from Wednesday to Thursday, a meeting of the State Commission will take place, following which decisions will be made on refueling the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with propellant components and launching it. The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and a batch of 36 spacecraft from the British company OneWeb is scheduled for March 25, 2021.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/30463/

[Rondaz]

Soyuz launches under OneWeb program due on March 25 and several weeks later

23 MAR, 20:44

Roscosmos plans to make eight launches under OneWeb program

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The next launch of a Soyuz rocket to take OneWeb satellites to the orbit will take place several weeks after the first one, slated for March 25, said Dmitry Loskutov, the CEO of Roscosmos subsidiary Glavkosmos promoting Russian space products and services on the international market,

"The next mission is expected to take place a few weeks after the launch due in the end of this month," he said.

According to Loskutov, this year’s launch schedule of OneWeb satellites "will in many aspects be determined by the readiness of the foreign customer’s spacecraft."

A Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with OneWeb satellites is scheduled to blast off from the Vostochny space center in Russia’s Far East at 05:47 Moscow time on March 25. Roscosmos plans to make eight launches under the OneWeb program from the Baikonur, Vostochny and Kourou spaceports this year. The first six satellites were orbited by a Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou launch facility in French Guiana on February 28, 2019. Another 34 satellites were delivered into outer space on February 7, 2020 and the same amount on March 21 from the Baikonur spaceport.

OneWeb satellites were launched from the Vostochny spaceport for the first time in December 2020. A total of 36 space vehicles were put into orbit. Overall, the UK company intends to deliver around 600 satellites into a near-Earth orbit.

OneWeb’s renewed agreement with the French Arianespace that acts as the launch operator stipulates the lift-off of 16 Russian Soyuz carrier rockets from the Kourou, Vostochny and Baikonur spaceports in 2020-2022. Each launch allows orbiting 34-36 OneWeb satellites.

https://tass.com/science/1269601

[Rondaz]

Less than 24 hours to go… Our Flight #ST30 is getting closer and closer! This “soon to be” launch will place 36 more @OneWeb’s satellites that will be the 111th to 146th  payloads we’ve orbited for this customer.

https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1374651450450702336

[Rondaz]

Here is what is going to happen during our 3 hours and 51 minutes long mission! See you at 2:30 am (UTC) for our live feed!#OneWebLaunch #ST30

https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1374751922545176578

[Rondaz]

Just 11 hours to go until our fifth #OneWebLaunch! Rocket We’ll be deploying 36 satellites, taking our total constellation to 146 as we make our way towards providing connectivity across the UK, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, Canada and beyond.

https://twitter.com/OneWeb/status/1374751308624883714

[Rondaz]

Vostochny Cosmodrome is ready for the second commercial launch

03/25/2021 01:10

At the Vostochny cosmodrome, a meeting of the State Commission took place, at which the readiness of the Soyuz-2.1b space rocket with the Fregat upper stage and 36 spacecraft of the OneWeb satellite company was considered. Based on the results of tests carried out by specialists of the State Corporation Roscosmos at the launch site during three launch days, a decision was made on its readiness for refueling with propellants and for launch.

In accordance with the work schedule, the starting calculations will begin filling the rocket with propellants at 01:20 Moscow time. After that, the final operations will begin at the launch complex: an automatic cycle of prelaunch preparation, the withdrawal of the service cabin into the niche of the launch structure and the withdrawal of the 52-meter mobile service tower. The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and a new batch of 36 OneWeb spacecraft is scheduled at 05:47:33 Moscow time on March 25, 2021.

You can watch the live broadcast of prelaunch operations, launch and flight of the launch vehicle on the official pages of the State Corporation Roscosmos in social networks and in the section " Live broadcasts " from 04:55 Moscow time. Watch today on the air an interview with the heads of organizations of the State Corporation Roscosmos (General Director of OKB Fakel Mikhail Korkunov and General Director of Glavkosmos Dmitry Loskutov), ​​as well as experts in the rocket and space industry.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/30465/

[Rondaz]

36 @OneWeb satellites stacked. The @Arianespace #Soyuz #ST30 is on the pad at Vostochny and will launch in just a few hours.

https://twitter.com/ShuttleAlmanac/status/1374878529075044352

[Rondaz]

Here is another feed..

Arianespace Flight ST30 - OneWeb (EN)

[NaN]

The mission thread for the imminent launch is here:

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52815.0

This is the launch thread for the OneWeb Flight 5 launch, the second OneWeb launch from Vostochny LC 1S, of 36 satellites for the OneWeb constellation.

[Rondaz]

New batch of OneWeb satellites in orbit

03/25/2021 10:40

On Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 05:47 Moscow time, the seventh launch took place from the Russian Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region. The Soyuz launch complex successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 36 new OneWeb spacecraft. After 561.8 seconds, the warhead detached itself from the third stage of the carrier in normal mode and continued its flight.

The sequential separation of nine groups of spacecraft from the Russian upper stage was carried out routinely in accordance with the laid down flight sequence. In total, during the mission, eleven active sites were provided for almost 4 hours: three activations of the sustainer propulsion system (the latter for the purpose of delivering the upper stage to the so-called "withdrawal orbit") and eight activations of the propulsion system of POPs, necessary for safe separation and discrepancies between OneWeb devices. All satellites have been successfully launched into assigned orbits and taken under control. After the completion of the disengagement and separation of spacecraft, the upper stage "Fregat" will be de-orbited, and non-combustible elements will be flooded in the uninhabited part of the Pacific Ocean. This launch was the fifth in the OneWeb launch campaign.

The launch vehicles of the State Corporation Roscosmos are the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle (manufactured by the Progress Rocket and Space Center, Samara) and the Fregat upper stage (manufactured by the S.A. Lavochkin Research and Production Association ) - fully completed the work in the normal mode. Today's launch of OneWeb satellites was carried out under a contract between Glavkosmos (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) with the European provider of launch services Arianespace and the Russian-French company Starsem in close cooperation with Roscosmos subsidiaries - RCC Progress, NPO Lavochkina and the Center for Operation of Ground-Based Space infrastructure.

LEO OneWeb spacecraft are designed to provide terrestrial consumers with high-speed Internet directly via satellite communications. Following today's launch, the OneWeb satellite constellation in low Earth orbit numbers 146 spacecraft, with the company planning to launch several hundred more.

The upper stage "Fregat" ensures the efficient performance of all tasks related to the launching of one or several spacecraft into working orbits or trajectories departing from the Earth. The entire process of launching is carried out autonomously, without interference from the Earth. The highest reliability and almost perfect launching accuracy give the upper stage an undeniable competitive advantage over world analogues.

LEO OneWeb spacecraft are designed to provide terrestrial consumers with high-speed Internet directly via satellite communications. Following today's launch, the OneWeb satellite constellation in low Earth orbit numbers 146 spacecraft, with the company planning to launch hundreds of others.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/30467/

[Rondaz]

Our #ST30 flight is now over and officially a success! It brings @OneWeb’s constellation to 146 satellites in low-Earth orbit!

https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1374990031237095424

[Rondaz]

High five! Arianespace orbits 36 satellites on its fifth launch for OneWeb

Soyuz March 25, 2021

Arianespace kicked off its 2021 launch activity with another deployment of 36 constellation satellites at the service of OneWeb, continuing support for this operator’s ultimate ambition of bringing space down to Earth for the benefit of all.

The latest cluster of spacecraft – produced by the OneWeb Satellites joint venture of OneWeb and Airbus – was released into a circular low-Earth orbit during a flight lasting 3 hours and 51 minutes from liftoff at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome to final payload separation. Total lift performance was estimated at 5,803 kg.

Soyuz rises to the occasion:

After an initial powered phase of Soyuz’ three lower stages, the mission included multiple powered phases of the re-ignitable Fregat upper stage to place its 36 passengers at their targeted deployment points. Designated Flight ST30, this was Arianespace’s 30th “ST” launch (which is the launcher designation for missions performed with the Starsem affiliate) and the second originating from Vostochny Cosmodrome (with liftoff coming at 11:47 a.m. local time).

The Soyuz 2-1b launcher version utilized for Flight ST30 is the result of a joint European/Russian upgrade program, adding a more powerful third stage engine that significantly increases the launcher’s overall performance.

To accommodate up to 36 OneWeb satellites on a single launch, Arianespace/Starsem utilizes a payload dispenser system that was developed and produced by prime contractor RUAG Space AB of Linköping, Sweden.

Arianespace’s fifth mission for OneWeb since 2019
Today’s mission success marked Arianespace’s fifth launch at the service of OneWeb, with a total of 146 satellites now delivered to orbit. The initial six spacecraft were lofted by Arianespace from French Guiana in February 2019.

This was followed by three missions in 2020: February and March flights conducted by Arianespace and Starsem from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying a total of 68 satellites; while a December mission delivered 36 more on the first commercial flight from Vostochny Cosmodrome.

OneWeb’s total constellation of 650 satellites will deliver high-speed, low-latency enterprise-grade connectivity services to a wide range of customer sectors including enterprise, government, maritime and aviation customers. Once deployed, it will enable user terminals are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage.

Soyuz and the Arianespace launcher family:

Soyuz is the medium-lift member of Arianespace’s launcher family, which also comprises the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and lightweight Vega. Including Flight ST30, the company has now performed a combined total of 325 missions using these three vehicles.

Up next in Arianespace’s launch calendar is Vega Flight VV18 from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

https://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/soyuz-st30-success/

[spacenut]

How much competition will OneWeb give Starlink?  What are the comparisons?

[ZachF]

How much competition will OneWeb give Starlink?  What are the comparisons?

Assuming OneWeb is paying $60m per Soyuz launch, so far OneWeb has paid ~$300m to launch 146 satellites with 1,022 GBps of throughput.

Assuming SpaceX is paying a $25m internal cost per F9 flight, so far SpaceX has paid $575m to launch 1,320 satellites with 26,400 GBps of throughput.

[Rondaz]

"@OneWeb raised $400m by selling equity Jan. 15, bringing the LEO broadband provider’s total funding to $1.4bn.

OneWeb is 'extremely confident' of securing about $800m in extra funding over this year to reach its funding goal of around $2bn."

https://twitter.com/Megaconstellati/status/1375165238010650624

[su27k]

OneWeb CEO: Here’s why our product is different than Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink

Putting it simply, Masterson said that OneWeb’s “approach to the market is just very different” versus Starlink, with the former focused on enterprise customers and the latter going direct to consumers’ households.

“There are some areas where we will compete, I suspect, particularly around serving governments, but governments will always buy more than one service,” Masterson told CNBC. “I think there’ll be multiple players who will be able to be able to be successful in addressing their market.”

[high road]

So their product is different because 'monopolies are bad'. Not a bad argument if they can compete on price and their service isn't much worse for certain applications. Otherwise, they are essentially being supported on disguised government support, which isn't much better.