On Thursday, SpaceX launched internet satellites for a rival, filling in for London-based OneWeb, which had suspended flights with Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Falcon rocket launched at dusk carrying 40 miniature satellites to polar orbit. OneWeb will add more than 500 satellites to its constellation, which is more than 80% of the 630 expected initially.
SpaceX Satellites
More than 3,200 Starlink satellites from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are in orbit and deliver high-speed, broadband internet to far-flung regions of the globe. Early in the next year, Amazon intends to launch the first of its broadband satellites from Cape Canaveral.
According to Massimiliano Ladovaz, chief technology officer at OneWeb, there is room for everyone in the exponentially expanding market for international internet service.
After OneWeb severed ties with Russia in March, SpaceX consented to launch satellites for the British company. Beginning in 2019, 13 groups of OneWeb satellites were launched using Russian Soyuz rockets.
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OneWeb’s Coverage
In October, India filled the gap by launching a group of OneWeb satellites. Although there were other launch options, Ladovaz said just before takeoff that SpaceX and India provided the best and fastest combination.
OneWeb plans to complete its orbiting constellation by spring with two more SpaceX launches and one from India in the coming months.
The newest satellites will extend OneWeb’s coverage to the whole US and Europe, as well as significant portions of Africa and South America, among other places. OneWeb now offers internet access in Alaska, Canada, and northern Europe.
Through a partnership with Airbus of France, OneWeb satellites, which are each approximately the size of a washing machine and weigh 330 pounds (150 kilograms), are created at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The launch on Thursday took place only a few kilometers from the same launch pad where Apollo astronauts last launched for the moon on December 7, 1972.
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