First Launch Of UK's OneWeb Satellites From Baikonur Set For Feb 7 - Russia's Progress

The first launch of UK's OneWeb telecommunications satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Russia's Soyuz carrier rocket was rescheduled for February 7, Dmitry Baranov, head of the Progress Rocket and Space Center, said on Thursday

SAMARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) The first launch of UK's OneWeb telecommunications satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Russia's Soyuz carrier rocket was rescheduled for February 7, Dmitry Baranov, head of the Progress Rocket and Space Center, said on Thursday.

The launch has already been postponed several times from December 19 to January 23 and then to January 30. Last time, a space industry source told Sputnik that the launch was scheduled for February 9. The delay was associated with a later than planned delivery of the second batch of OneWeb satellites to Baikonur.

"Launch will be set for around February 7," Baranov said, talking about the launch of OneWeb satellites.

Roscosmos signed contracts with French company Arianespace and UK's OneWeb in June 2015 for carrying out a total of 21 commercial launches to bring 672 satellites to space atop the Soyuz rockets from Kourou, Baikonur and Vostochny spaceports.

OneWeb plans to create a constellation of satellites that will provide broadband internet access to users around the world fully covering the Earth's surface. In cooperation with Roscosmos, the OneWeb company sent up its first satellites in February, and has planned the next two launches for the end of this year and the first half of 2020.

In April 2019, OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel said that the initial constellation of 650 satellites would begin to provide commercial services in 2021. The constellation is expected to include about 2,000 satellites by 2026.

According to Arianespace, it is planned to carry out at least eight Soyuz-2 rocket launches with OneWeb satellite groups from Russian spaceports of Baikonur and Vostochny in 2020.