The board of OneWeb voted on Thursday morning to suspend all future launches from Baikonur. The broadband internet constellation was going to be completed this year with a series of flights from the cosmodrome.
The firm will be working with Arianespace to find alternative rocket rides.
This will be difficult. There are not enough vehicles in the class needed by OneWeb.
The company has over 400 satellites in the sky. This is enough to provide space-borne internet connections above 50 degrees North, but close to 650 satellites are required to run a truly global service.
In light of Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, we are reviewing our participation on the board.
This would appear to bring an end to the confusion over whether the Soyuz rocket would actually launch on Friday.
When the vehicle, with 36 OneWeb satellites nestled under its nosecone, was rolled out on Wednesday, it seemed that the flight was going to happen.
The head of the Russian space agency started to make demands before he would give the flight approval. He said these demands were a response to western sanctions imposed on Russia.
He wanted assurances that OneWeb's system wouldn't be used for military purposes, an impossible ask given that UK and US forces are very keen to use the internet system. He wanted the UK government to sell its shares in the company.
A video of pad workers covering up flags on the nosecone of a rocket was posted by Mr. Rogozin.
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