Soyuz rocket launches 36 OneWeb internet satellites into orbit
OneWeb now has 394 satellites in orbit.
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket launched dozens of new internet satellites into orbit Monday (Dec. 27) to boost a growing megaconstellation by service provider OneWeb.
The Russian-built Soyuz rocket launched 36 OneWeb satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:10 a.m. EST (1310 GMT). The flight comes just two days after an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket launched NASA's James Webb Space Telescope into space on Christmas from Kourou, French Guiana and just ahead of the New Year, closing out Arianespace's launch manifest for 2021.
It's "a special time of the year for a very special flight," Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said via a video message during a launch webcast. The launch was Arianespace's 15th of 2021 and the last of the year, he added.
Video: Watch the Soyuz rocket's OneWeb 12 mission launch!
In photos: OneWeb launches new global satellite internet constellation
Monday's launch marked the eighth launch of the year for OneWeb, which now has 394 of its internet satellites in orbit. If all goes well, the 36 new satellites will be deployed in an initial orbit 280 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth about 3 hours, 45 minutes after liftoff. They'll then head off to a final orbit more than 621miles (1,000 km) above Earth.
The London-based OneWeb is building a constellation of 648 satellites to provide high-speed internet access to customers around the world, especially remote and under-connected locations. This year, the company reached the 60% mark of their constellation in space and signed a series of distribution agreements with partners in Australia, Canada and Europe for their service network.
"The demand for connectivity is not just at an emotional level, it is almost visceral," OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson told Via Satellite in an interview this month. "We think we have this incredible opportunity to level up this digital divide and help close it."
The liftoff follows OneWeb satellite launches in August, as well as in September and October of this year.
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OneWeb is not the only company vying for the satellite internet customers.
SpaceX is building a megaconstellation of its own called Starlink and has launched 1,944 satellites since 2019. That constellation is expected to number at least 4,400 satellites in its initial configuration. Amazon is also developing its own internet satellite constellation called Kuiper, but has yet to launch any satellites.
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Tariq is the award-winning Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001. He covers human spaceflight, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. He's a recipient of the 2022 Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting and the 2025 Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society. He is an Eagle Scout and Space Camp alum with journalism degrees from the USC and NYU. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.