UK company OneWeb launches 34 satellites on board Soyuz vehicle

Communication company OneWeb has launched 34 satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

OneWeb 34 satellites were on board the Soyuz launch vehicle.

The satellites were launched from the rocket in nine batches. Signal acquisition was confirmed on all 34 satellites within hours.

This is one of the largest civilian satellite launch campaigns in history.

The satellites will facilitate the company’s development of phase one constellation of 648 satellites, which will provide high-speed and low-latency global connectivity to multiple markets, including maritime, aviation, government and enterprise.

OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel said: “The successful manufacture, delivery and launch of this batch of 34 satellites is the latest proof point of the OneWeb plan. Importantly, today’s mission also brings us closer to our next step, realising our ultimate vision of providing access to high speed, reliable internet to everyone, everywhere.

“We are seeing considerable interest from prospective customers and partners. Later this year, we will provide service in the arctic region and 2021 will see OneWeb achieve global coverage, making the digital divide a thing of the past.”

The communications company is planning to provide global coverage to customers in 2021. The first commercial services will begin in the Arctic this year.

In addition to launching the satellites, the company has secured global priority spectrum rights.

The company has also received UK Space Agency funding of £18m through the European Space Agency (ESA) for building the satellite constellation.