Web Desk
OneWeb is set to launch the final satellites in its space internet network.
The London-based company, nearing completion of its internet-from-space network, has largely given up on trying to retrieve satellites worth $50 million in a dispute related to the Ukraine conflict, the satellite operator’s chief executive said this week.
“We are one launch away from achieving global coverage. This last launch with ISRO/NSIL will mark over 600 satellites in space, which is the number needed to go commercially live,” a OneWeb representative reportedly said.
The LVM-III will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday morning at 9 am to deploy the 36 satellites into orbit. The deployment will complete the first constellation of 648 satellites around the planet by OneWeb. The satellites are divided into 12 planes and operate at an altitude of 1200 kilometers above the planet.
If all the 36 satellites work according to the plan they will soon be capable of delivering broadband internet to every corner of the Earth.
OneWeb has moved quickly to recover its position after the financial collapse at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. The London-based company is not selling broadband connections direct to the individual user. The clients of the company are telecom companies that provide this internet service. They might also be employing the connectivity to supplement, or expand, the infrastructure in their mobile phone networks.
