OneWeb turns to SpaceX for help after Russia refused to launch company’s satellites

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The first launch of OneWeb's satellites is expected this year, with the internet-from-space provider saying it will resume launching its satellites on the rockets of its competitor. The deal was struck after OneWeb's original launch provider, Russia's state space corporation, refused to continue launching the company's satellites unless OneWeb relented to a list of significant demands.

The British company OneWeb is currently building out a mega-constellation of It is similar to the Starlink initiative, which aims to launch tens of thousands of satellites to provide global broadband Internet coverage.

OneWeb has successfully launched 428 of its satellites, all of which were launched on Russia's Soyuz rocket, arranged through a partnership agreement with European launch provider Arianespace. OneWeb was going to launch another 36 satellites in the early morning hours of March 5th on a Soyuz. The launch of OneWeb was thrown into turmoil after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

Just a few days before the launch was set to take place, the head of Roscosmos demanded that Russia only launch OneWeb's satellites if the company promised that they wouldn't be used for military purposes. The British government should give up its entire stake in OneWeb. The UK invested $500 million in OneWeb in order to save the company from financial ruin, and the UK government became a major shareholder.

OneWeb and the UK refused to comply with the demands, and the company ended up suspending all further launches of its satellites. The satellites have not yet been returned to OneWeb, despite the roll back of the rocket carrying them. The company doesn't know what happened to the satellites or if they will ever be returned. There are ways to get a resilient solution.

There were no immediate options for getting the remaining 220 satellites into space. According to OneWeb, the exact terms of the deal are confidential. McLaughlin wouldn't say if the new agreement would cover all of the remaining satellites. It is unclear if this will include more than one launch and if the Falcon Heavy will be used.

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said in a statement that they were thankful for the support of the company.

The move may seem odd, as OneWeb is often viewed as a direct competitor by the public. McLaughlin says that OneWeb is more focused on selling its service to governments than it is on serving individual customers. We see ourselves as a polar enterprise service. Very, very different products.

OneWeb is in the testing phase with its constellation and is not rolling out its Starlink service to customers in the United States or other countries. McLaughlin says that OneWeb has activated service above the 50th parallel north, but the company has only begun testing in Canada and Alaska. OneWeb has agreements with various companies and governments to distribute its service. OneWeb signed a $200 million deal with a Saudi Arabia-backed company to distribute its service in the Middle East.