Page 115 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2022

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

OneWeb Successfully Deploys 36 New LEO Satellites

OneWeb has successfully added 36 new LEO (Low Earth Orbit) refused to proceed unless the British government sold its stake
satellites to its constellation. With the UK not set to bring its in the firm and the company guaranteed they will not be used for
vertical space launch capabilities online until next year, the British military purposes. Neil Masterson, Chief Executive of OneWeb,
satellite operator turned to NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) to said: “I am delighted that we have been able to resume OneWeb’s
conduct the launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in launch program. This launch was made possible thanks to the hard
Sriharikota, India. Radhakrishnan D, Chairman-cum-Managing work by our team and our partners at ISRO and NSIL, as well as
Director at NewSpace India Limited, said: “The successful launch shareholder Bharti Global. “The spirit of collaboration exemplified
of 36 OneWeb satellites via the GSLV-MkIII from the Satish Dhawan by this international effort is at the core of our strategy to scale up
Space Centre is a historic moment for NSIL and ISRO (Indian Space our global coverage network. At OneWeb, we remain laser-focused
Research Organization). We worked closely with the OneWeb team on removing barriers to connectivity, ensuring that we deliver for
to support this milestone launch, which has been accomplished communities and customers globally.”
in a record time of a few months, while also illustrating the
opportunities for satellite connectivity in India. We look forward
to strengthening our partnership with OneWeb and utilizing the
potential that LEO connectivity has to deliver broadband services
across India.” The lift-off took place on Sunday, 23rd October 2022
at 00.07hrs local time. OneWeb’s satellites were dispensed in
nine phases over a period of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sunil Bharti
Mittal, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, commented: “Today’s
launch is a significant milestone for OneWeb. This new phase of
our launch program from India brings us a step closer to not only
enhancing our global coverage but also delivering connectivity in
India and South Asia, particularly to the communities who need
it most.” OneWeb’s constellation is now up to 462 satellites, 70
percent of its planned LEO satellite fleet, and is on track to activate
global coverage in 2023. In March, a planned launch of OneWeb’s
satellites was put on hold after Russian space agency Roscosmos

Virgin Orbit to Launch First Satellite

in Europe Within Six Weeks

Richard Branson's small satellite service provider Virgin Orbit
Holdings Inc will be doing its first launch from European soil within
the next six weeks, its founder said recently. "Virgin Orbit can
launch satellites into space from anywhere in the world into any
orbit at a days notice," Branson said during a press conference in
Milan. "We are doing the first launch from European soil into space
within the next six weeks ... from Cornwall," he added. Founded by
Branson back in 2017, the company began commercial service in
2021.

SpaceX Confirms Availability of Starlink Service in Japan

Elon Musk’s SpaceX confirmed via Twitter (10 October) that its the US firm’s satellites. In a press release at the time, KDDI said
Starlink broadband service is now available in Japan, marking its that from 2022 some 1,200 locations would be able to benefit from
first live service in Asia. Back in September 2021 Japanese telco high speed, low-latency satellite broadband internet. According to
KDDI (au) signed a contract with the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) operator the Starlink coverage map, as of today Starlink’s satellites are live
to provide high speed internet connectivity to remote islands and in the north of Japan, including the capital Tokyo.
mountainous regions of Japan and au base station backhaul, via

115 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022