OneWeb

Grey Havoc

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What will happen to the satellites that are already in orbit? Will SpaceX buy them?
 
They are hoping to be able to reorganise under bankruptcy protection. Failing that, the UK government will have to assume responsibility for the deployed satellites in the short-term. Long term? I'm not sure if anyone really knows in the current circumstances.
 
What will happen to the satellites that are already in orbit? Will SpaceX buy them?

That would generate quite a few headaches trying to integrate them into SpaceX's organization: these sats are likely to use different command & control and communications standards to what SpaceX uses. When you consider that 74 sats is a tiny number compared to the number SpaceX are cranking out, it might be more trouble than it's worth.
 
A few older posts from other threads.

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ORIGINAL CAPTION: The forthcoming Ariane 6 rocket would be used at a later stage to replenish the satellite fleet

OneWeb satellite operator eyes huge rocket campaign (BBC NEWS)



On a related note, meant to add this ages ago:

I thought there was a dedicated thread for OneWeb but apparently not. I'll park this here for the moment, since it does impact SpaceX, and set up an OneWeb thread later.


 



 
Wouldn't it be a good bargain for a quick first step to sovereign access to space? The private partnership would retake gradual control once a better system is up taking advantage of gov quick investments to secure ownership.
1/2 billion pounds doesn't seem like a money pit.
 
Wouldn't it be a good bargain for a quick first step to sovereign access to space? The private partnership would retake gradual control once a better system is up taking advantage of gov quick investments to secure ownership.
1/2 billion pounds doesn't seem like a money pit.

OneWeb doesn't have launch services; they still need to buy actual access to space from someone else. At this point that means Roscosmos, which at least has an absurd backstock of launch vehicles stored. But far from soverign access.
 
no, the OneWeb sats are not navigation satellites, they lack essential equipment like the atomic clock. The constellation is also in too low an orbit to be useful for navigation.
 
The key name here is the one I’ve bolded in this quote.

Whatever the future direction, space now has a seat at the top table. A new UK Space Council is being chaired by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the sector has the personal interest of Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's top adviser. The Government’s overarching goal remains a 10pc share of the £400bn space economy by 2030.
 

Interesting if true.
 
From the Slashdot thread:
"As it turns out, OneWeb's "near-miss" appears to have been a farce and the company scrambled to promise to retract those statements in an April 20th meeting with the FCC and SpaceX."
This comes from a filing by, well, SpaceX. Other, less Musk-boot-licky sources, checked on OneWeb's response - and in their own filing they say they made no such promise or offer to retract anything, and stand by the story. Also, complaints about SpaceX's behavior in this particular venture are not exactly peculiar to OneWeb. This may or may not be a publicity game, but the posted article is essentially an unquestioning parroting of the SpaceX official line.

https://arstechnica.com/inform... [arstechnica.com]
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/te... [telegraph.co.uk]
https://www.pcmag.com/news/spa... [pcmag.com]
 
July 1, 2021

OneWeb Completes its ‘Five to 50’ Mission to Cover Regions North of 50 Degrees Latitude including UK, Canada, Alaska and Arctic Region

OneWeb confirms successful launch and contact with all 36 satellites launched earlier today, bringing total in-orbit constellation to 254 satellites

High-speed connectivity to be available from the North Pole to the 50th parallel – includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska and Arctic Region

On track for full global coverage by June 2022 with a LEO constellation of 648 satellites


London, 1 July 2021: OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, today announced the successful launch of another 36 satellites to mark the completion of its ‘Five to 50’ mission. With this major milestone, the Company is ready to deliver connectivity across the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, and the Arctic Region.

The latest launch takes OneWeb’s in-orbit constellation to 254 satellites, or 40% of OneWeb’s planned fleet of 648 LEO satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. OneWeb intends to make global service available in 2022.

Service demonstrations will begin this summer in several key locations – including Alaska and Canada – as OneWeb prepares for commercial service in the next six months. Offering enterprise-grade connectivity services, the Company has already announced distribution partnerships across several industries and businesses including with BT, ROCK Network, AST Group, PDI, Alaska Communications and others, as OneWeb expands its global capabilities. The Company continues to engage with telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services and sees growing demand for new solutions to connect the hardest to reach places.

The launch of the latest 36 satellites was conducted by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrom. Liftoff occurred on 1 July at 13:48 BST. OneWeb’s satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in 9 batches over a period of 3 hours 52 minutes with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites confirmed.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, MP, said: “This latest launch of OneWeb satellites will put high-speed broadband within reach of the whole Northern Hemisphere later this year, including improving connectivity in the remotest parts of the UK.

“Backed by the British Government, OneWeb proves what is possible when public and private investment come together, putting the UK at the forefront of the latest technologies, opening up new markets, and ultimately transforming the lives of people around the world.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said: “Today’s momentous milestone demonstrates that OneWeb is now a leader in LEO broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of stakeholders across the Northern Hemisphere. This fifth launch amid the unprecedented global pandemic is truly remarkable and I congratulate the management team and fellow shareholders on the success.

“Bharti’s doubling of its investment earlier this week is testament to the commitment to OneWeb’s mission. We now look forward to the next chapter in OneWeb’s story, preparing the company for commercial service in the less than six months to deliver our global connectivity solutions to communities around the world.”

The Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, MP, Secretary of State, BEIS, added: “Today’s launch is an exciting milestone in providing some of the world’s most remote locations with fast, UK-backed broadband less than a year since British government investment made this possible. With yet another successful mission, the people of the UK can be proud that this country is at the heart of the latest advances in small satellite technology.

“OneWeb’s coverage across the Northern Hemisphere now puts the United Kingdom at the forefront of the latest developments in Low Earth Orbit technology, and we will capitalise on the company’s unique position within this growing market to build a strong domestic space industry and cement our status as a global science and technology superpower.”

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said: “This is a truly historic moment for OneWeb, the culmination of months of positive momentum in our ‘Five to 50’ programme, increased investment from our global partners and the rapid onboarding of new customers. We are incredibly excited to start delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity first to the UK and the Arctic region and to see our network scale over the coming months as we continue building to global service. Thanks to all our incredible partners who have been with us on this journey and are instrumental to making OneWeb’s mission a success.”

 

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