OneWeb’s next launch is scheduled to occur today, Saturday, March 21, at 17:06 (GMT) / 1:06 PM (EDT) / 22:06 (local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
This will be the second launch for OneWeb in 2020 and these additional 34 satellites will bring the constellation total to 74. The satellites are built by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus who are engaged in a new, high-volume, manufacturing process that can build two satellites per day.
Arianespace will launch OneWeb’s satellites into a near polar orbit of 450 kilometers, after which they will be raised to their final orbit of 1,200 kilometers.
OneWeb’s first customer demos are scheduled for the end of 2020 and availability of commercial services, for sectors such as maritime, aviation, government and enterprise, are scheduled for the end of 2021.
The theme for this launch commemorates the late Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who made history 55 years ago when he became the first person to exit a spacecraft and walk in Space. The OneWeb mission patch bears his name and celebrates his achievement.
OneWeb will be streaming the launch on Facebook and you can follow the launch on OneWeb social media channels: YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.
For live transmission of the launch (with English commentary) go to: OneWeb on Facebook