Bharti backed OneWeb Launches 34 Satellites

Bharti backed OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, confirmed the deployment of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

This launch, the Company’s first in 2022 and 13th overall, brings OneWeb’s total in-orbit constellation to 428 satellites. It represents 66 percent of OneWeb’s planned 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.

This launch kicks off a successful start to 2022 as demand for OneWeb’s broadband connectivity services has continued to grow across telecommunications providers, aviation and maritime markets, ISPs, and governments worldwide. Most recently, the Company has signed new distribution partnership agreements with several companies in the last month – including Hughes Network Systems, Marlink, and Field Solutions Holdings – to help ensure connectivity is delivered to the most hard-to-reach places globally.

Liftoff of the latest launch occurred on Thursday, 10th of February 2022. OneWeb’s satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches over a period of 3 hours 33 minutes with signal acquisition on all 34 satellites confirmed.

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, commented: “Our first launch of the year marks our significant progress in completing a truly global LEO network later in 2022. We continue to see growing demand for OneWeb’s industry-leading services as we look forward to delivering on our ambition to build robust, secure, and global access to broadband services.”

OneWeb dedicated this latest launch to the Company’s commitment to Responsible Space – its belief that space is a shared natural resource and it is up to all of us to help safeguard it for use today and by future generations. OneWeb’s Responsible Space initiative is comprised of three core elements; committing to responsible design and operations, sustaining the space ecosystem to support new technologies to advance in this area and, lastly, engaging in advancing policy outcomes to balance growing the space economy while ensuring its protection.