OneWeb Launches 34 Satellites into Low Earth Orbit

OneWeb, Satellite Communications Operator, Bharti Airtel & United Kingdom (UK) has launched 34 state-owned satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) on August 22, 2021.

*The launch was carried out by Arianespace, a European satellite launch vehicle from Soyuz, a Russian rocket, from the Baikonur cosmodromes in Kazakhstan.
*This is the 5th launch of OneWeb satellites in 2021, with 288 satellites in orbit.

Key Points :

1.OneWeb aims to launch a total of 648 satellites to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to customers around the world (SpaceX’s Starlink Internet galaxy is expected to have about 12,000 satellites).

2.The OneWave satellite launch was resumed in December 2020 after the British government and the Bharati Enterprises consortium of India emerged from bankruptcy protection with a $ 1 billion stake.

3.A full satellite broadband service will be launched in India by May 2022.