ISRO ends OneWeb's 'turbulent' period, enables orbit for global Internet
The launch from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, marks the end of a turbulent period for the satellite project, which was established ten years ago by serial space businessman Greg Wyler. Defence and Aeronautics Expert Girish Linganna reports
FollowOneWeb Limited successfully the last 36 satellites in its preliminary 616-satellite 'constellation', positioning itself as a competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink and enabling worldwide broadband service within this year.
"This achievement is the result of a tremendous amount of effort. We’ve faced several geopolitical challenges in the past year or so. Despite this, our team has demonstrated remarkable resilience and managed to catch up," said CEO Neil Masterson in an interview with Bloomberg prior to the launch, which utilized the services of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
OneWeb has now successfully launched a sufficient number of high-speed satellites into orbit, enabling it to provide broadband services to commercial and government clients in the lower 48 US states starting in May. Furthermore, Masterson stated that they aimed at achieving worldwide coverage by the end of 2023.
The launch took place in Sriharikota, situated in Andhra Pradesh. This marks the end of a turbulent period for the satellite project, which was established ten years ago by serial space businessperson Greg Wyler.
In March 2020, the organisation declared bankruptcy as it was denied access to credit markets amid the economic chaos brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK government and Indian telecom magnate Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Group came to its aid. Subsequently, the company secured investments from SoftBank Group Corp. (9,984), Hanwha Systems Co. (272,210) and Hughes Satellite Systems Corp.
OneWeb’s significant shareholder, French satellite company Eutelsat SA, consented to a merger last July, subject to regulatory approvals and a vote by shareholders. This group is competing to be part of the multibillion-euro IRIS satellite project led by the European Union.
OneWeb anticipates breaking even by 2025 with $900 million in secured earnings, according to Masterson. The London-based firm has also initiated preparations for an additional, advanced series of several hundred supplementary satellites, which could potentially cost up to $4 billion and become functional by 2028.
THE SPACE RACEÂ
The launch marks a significant moment in the emerging competition to encircle the globe with thousands of low-altitude satellites for broadband purposes, leading to agreements among current participants in the field.
OneWeb holds the position of the second-largest low-earth orbit -- also known as 'LEO' -- system after Starlink. This extensive network managed and deployed by Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp, boasts over 3,000 satellites in orbit. In addition, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has plans to establish a massive system of its own known as Project Kuiper.
Masterson shrugged off competition between his company and SpaceX, emphasising that Musk’s business focuses on individual customers, while OneWeb caters to corporate and government clientele. Besides, Masterson’s firm is a client of SpaceX, having utilized Musk’s rockets to deploy their satellites after their planned launch with France’s Arianespace SA was disrupted due to Russia’s incursion into Ukraine a year earlier.
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