Soyuz Rocket With 34 OneWeb Satellites Installed At Baikonur Launch Pad - Roscosmos

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2021) The Russian Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with 34 communication satellites of UK company OneWeb has been installed at the launch pad of the Baikonur cosmodrome and is getting prepared for the liftoff scheduled for September 14, Russian state space agency Roscosmos said on Saturday.

"On Saturday, September 11, 2021, the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and 34 OneWeb spacecraft was taken from the assembly and test building ... As of now, the space rocket has been installed at the Vostok launch pad of the Baikonur cosmodrome and is being prepared for launch, which is scheduled for September 14," the agency said in a statement.

The OneWeb constellation is designed to provide commercial satellite communication services beginning from late 2021. At the end of the next year, the company plans to ensure broadband internet access to users from around the globe by fully covering the Earth's surface with 648 satellites.

The last such launch took place on August 22, putting into orbit another 34 OneWeb satellites.