Arianespace has announced that Flight ST32 will put 36 of OneWeb’s satellites into a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometres.
This will be the fourth commercial mission performed by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in the Russian Far East.
The mission will have a total duration of three hours and 51 minutes and will include nine separations of four satellites, which will raise themselves to their operational orbit.
This seventh launch to the benefit of OneWeb will bring up to speed Arianespace’s operations this year, and will raise from 183 to 218 the number of satellites deployed for the global telecommunications operator.
OneWeb’s mission is to bring internet everywhere through a next generation satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. OneWeb says its constellation will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity services to a wide range of customer sectors including aviation, maritime, backhaul services, as well as governments, emergency response services and more.
Once deployed, the OneWeb constellation will enable user terminals that are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, providing high-speed access globally.
OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space, is the constellation’s prime contractor. The satellites were built using a manufacturing process that can build up to two satellites a day on a series production line.