Only a week after SpaceX's latest launch of satellites for its Starlink broadband service was decimated by a geomagnetic (solar) storm, OneWeb said it had successfully launched its latest batch of broadband-delivering low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
SpaceX said earlier in the week that up to 40 of its 49 satellites launched February 3 from Cape Kennedy in Florida had been prevented from making their way to higher orbits due to the storm's affect on atmospheric density and were reentering the atmosphere, where they were designed to "demise" while creating no orbital debris and with no satellite parts hitting the ground.
Also: OneWeb Beefs Up Broadband Delivery System
On the upside for constellations of LEOS deployed to create a satellite broadband service, OneWeb said Thursday (February 10) that it had deployed 34 satellites from French Guiana, its first launch in 2022 and brining its constellation of broadband satellites to 428, or 66% of its planned total fleet of 648.
OneWeb said at press time signal-acquisition had been confirmed for all 34 satellites.
Also: OneWeb Strikes Deal for Launch in India
OneWeb said that came on the heels for new distribution partnerships with Hughes Network Systems and others to "help ensure connectivity is delivered to the most hard-to-reach places globally." ■
