The British space internet operator, OneWeb, launched 36 new internet satellites into Earth’s orbit last weekend, bringing global coverage to the company’s service.
Yesterday’s launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India with an LVM-3 rocket, and it is OneWeb’s 18th satellite launch. OneWeb now has a total of 618 satellites in orbit around the Earth, and the company says that 588 satellites are enough to provide global coverage to its future customers.
Sometime at the end of the year, OneWeb plans to begin offering its service for global coverage and will then be able to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. Above, you can see what it looked like when the mighty LVM-3 rocket left the Earth.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said: “In my work I have seen the power of connectivity to bring benefits to all, wherever they are. Yet half the world’s population does not have access to fast, reliable connectivity. Today’s launch represents a major step towards closing the digital divide. OneWeb’s global constellation will play a pivotal role in realising this dream.
–oneweb.net
