OneWeb agreed with a French company to launch its Internet satellites after breaking off relations with Roscosmos

In mid-September 2022, OneWeb agreed with the French company Arianespace to launch its Internet satellites after breaking off relations with Roscosmos.

Arianespace will OneWeb support upcoming launches, even if they are produced by other companies - in particular, we are talking about two missions undertaken by NewSpace India Limited, which is part of the Indian national space agency. ISRO

OneWeb agreed with the French company to launch its Internet satellites after breaking off relations with Roskosmos

In addition, Arianespace and OneWeb will continue to develop comprehensive cooperation: it is stated that the possibility of using the new Ariane 6 missiles to launch second-generation communications satellites will be studied. Financial and other parameters of the transaction are not disclosed.

On February 24, 2022, the United States and the European Union announced the imposition of sanctions against the Russian space industry. In response to European sanctions, the head of Roscosmos announced the termination of Soyuz rocket launches from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana and the recall of Russian specialists from there. OneWeb refused to launch satellites from Baikonur on March 3. Earlier it was planned that Roscosmos in 2022 will carry out about 20 launches of OneWeb satellites using Russian missiles. On March 4, 2022, the then head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, instructed to stop preparations at Baikonur for the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with OneWeb satellites.

Launch company Arianespace for OneWeb was abruptly halted in March due to sanctions on a Russian Soyuz rocket the French company used to deploy 428 of the operator's planned 648 broadband satellites. Arianespace intended to fly six more Soyuz missions to complete the constellation under their 19-launch contract, including the launch of spare satellites for in-orbit reserve.^[1]

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