OneWeb has signed an agreement with SpaceX after terminating cooperation with Roscosmos
The British company OneWeb, which creates the global satellite internet system of the same name to compete with Starlink, has signed an agreement with a direct competitor — the American SpaceX Elon Musk. This will allow OneWeb to resume launching its own internet satellites after the termination of cooperation with Russia’s Roscosmos-on Falcon 9 launch vehicles.
The first launch of OneWeb Satellites under contract with SpaceX is expected this year.
We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a launch agreement with @SpaceX that will enable OneWeb to resume satellite launches.
The first launch with SpaceX is anticipated later this year.
Find out more about the announcement at:https://t.co/qvSAOIP04n pic.twitter.com/AMXHEvunAj
— OneWeb (@OneWeb) March 21, 2022
To date, OneWeb has launched 428 of its planned 648 satellites. Until recently, the British company used the services of Roscosmos, which provided delivery of OneWeb Satellites into orbit using Soviet Soyuz launch vehicles from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, on March 3, OneWeb announced the suspension of cooperation with Roscosmos. This happened after the agency, which is headed by the notorious Dmitry Rogozin, put forward illegal demands to the business partner regarding the provision of guarantees for the non-use of satellites of the system for military purposes and the withdrawal of the British government from the shareholders of OneWeb. OneWeb rejected these demands with the support of the British government.
OneWeb made 13 launches under an agreement with Roscosmos and planned at least 5 more, and the last one was supposed to take place in August 2022. At the same time, the fate of 36 OneWeb Satellites that were previously delivered to Baikonur is unknown — the rashists previously refused to give them up.
It is important that the teams of OneWeb and Arianespace, which commercializes Soyuz launches, (as well as a representative of the US State Department) are no longer located at the Russian-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome.
I just spoke to @OneWeb executive Chris McLaughlin about the evolving Roscosmos situation:
Crucially, the OneWeb and Arianespace teams (as well as a U.S. State Dept rep) are all no longer at the Russia-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome.https://t.co/KCbI4OX0mk
— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) March 2, 2022
At the same time, it is reported that ESA (European Space Agency), which previously officially refused to cooperate with Roscosmos on the ExoMars project due to the war in Ukraine, is also negotiating with Elon Musk’s company to postpone launches that were originally planned from French Guinea and using Soyuz to the Falcon 9. We are waiting for new tantrums from the demon Rogozin.
The piquancy of the current situation is added by the fact that 20 years ago Elon Musk twice traveled to Russia, trying to purchase an old ballistic missile for the Mars Oasis project. And Where is SpaceX now?
