OneWeb, a British satellite internet company that canceled rocket launches with Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine, is going to send its satellites into space.
The alliance is unusual because OneWeb is the primary competitor in the market for providing high-speed internet from space to users on the ground. A dispute with Russia's space agency prompted OneWeb to work with SpaceX. The growing isolation of Russia's space industry from partners in the West is a result of Moscow's war with its smaller neighbor.
Neil Masterson, OneWeb's chief executive, said in a statement that the new agreement would allow OneWeb to finish building its constellation of
He said that they were thankful for the support from SpaceX, which reflected their vision for the boundless potential of space.
OneWeb didn't say how many launches it purchased or when it will complete its satellite constellation. The most active launch vehicle is the Falcon 9. OneWeb is talking with other launch providers, as well as its agreement with SpaceX, according to Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, a senior adviser to OneWeb.
The earliest launch of OneWeb satellites would be this summer, but we don't have a date.
OneWeb's internet business is active in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but the company will not be able to meet its goal of providing full global service in August 2022. Starlink, the internet constellation from SpaceX that relies on thousands more satellites at a lower altitude, is already available to some consumers on a pilot basis, and has been shipped in recent weeks to Ukraine.
Sixty-six percent of OneWeb's constellation design has been sent to space using the workhorse rocket of Russia.
The British government invested $500 in OneWeb, and the director general of the Russian space agency demanded that the company cut ties. Western sanctions levied on Russia over the invasion were followed by an ultimatum from Mr. Rogozin.
OneWeb decided to scrap all of its planned launches and instead focus on completing its constellation by August. Neither Britain nor any European Union country has a rocket that can deliver satellites. OneWeb was considering launching rockets in the United States, India and Japan, according to an executive at the time.
The 36 satellites that were put aboard the Soyuz rocket were not known by OneWeb officials.
OneWeb is in talks with Arianespace, the French rocket company that brokered OneWeb's Soyuz launches, about retrieving the satellites and securing a potential refund for the axed Soyuz missions.
She said that nothing has been destroyed and that all they have done is lost time.
The head of Russia's space agency said on Monday that OneWeb was doomed, repeating previous claims that not launching on the Soyuz would cause the company to go bankrupt. He suggested that OneWeb's satellites couldn't be deployed successfully, but didn't explain why.
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