SpaceX will launch the remaining OneWeb satellites. OneWeb is not directly competing with SpaceX Starlink for providing satellite communications.
The satellites in the OneWeb constellation are approximately 150 kg (330 lb) in mass. This is half of the mass of the latest Starlink satellites. The 648 operational satellites are to operate in 12 near polar orbit planes at 1,200 km (750 mi) altitude, at 86.4° orbital inclination. The first-generation satellites do not have inter-satellite data links, so will only provide a user service when also in the range of a gateway ground station.
The satellites will provide user service in the Ku-band, communicating in the microwave range of frequencies in the 12–18 GHz portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Links to gateway ground stations will be in the Ka-band. The satellites use a technique called “progressive pitch” in which the satellites are slightly turned to avoid interference with Ku-band satellites in geostationary orbit. The user terminal antenna on the ground will be a phased array antenna measuring approximately 36 by 16 cm (14.2 by 6.3 in) and will provide Internet access at 50 megabits/second downlink bandwidth
Intended markets
In March 2021, OneWeb stated its market will be primarily to businesses, governments including defence, phone network operators and clusters of communities, rather than to individual domestic customers which its competitor Starlink primarily targets. The users willing to connect were advised to contact their local telecoms for additional info.
The OneWeb satellite constellation is a planned initial 648-satellite constellation with completion in 2022-23 with a goal to provide global satellite Internet broadband services to people everywhere, starting in 2021. They have launched 428 satellites. They were using the Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat-M rockets provided by Roscosmos. The war in Ukraine has resulted in the suspension of those launches.
On 21 March 2022, OneWeb announced that it had signed a launch agreement with United States launch provider SpaceX to launch the remaining satellites on Falcon 9 rockets, with the first launch expected no earlier than summer 2022.
Dylan Browne, president of OneWeb’s government business unit, told SpaceNews in March 2020 that he expects community user terminals to cost between $1,000 to $1,500, which could be used as Wifi hotspots for cafes and similar businesses.
We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a launch agreement with @SpaceX that will enable OneWeb to resume satellite launches.
The first launch with SpaceX is anticipated later this year.
Find out more about the announcement at:https://t.co/qvSAOIP04n pic.twitter.com/AMXHEvunAj
— OneWeb (@OneWeb) March 21, 2022
SOURCES- oneweb
Written by Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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Yep, Oneweb are going after defence and corporate, they're not even interested in the consumer market. Not superior to Starlink but good enough to turn a profit.
That's why I say we have no hope for change except by force. This country has been taken over by corrupt politicians for over 45 years. Everyone one that in government from the past 45 years has baggage. They all need to be put on trial and investigated.i do home work ….. .
Not going to happen. They have an anchor customer in the U.K. government who will be using OneWeb for independent GPS and communications for defence applications. That’s why the U.K. government bought a stake in the company.
Are they system compatible in anyway? Either from the dish or satellite to satellite?
.net is enuf warning for me!
They may be competing in a very local sense, but these sort of business markets are really competing against *everything* else and often support each other, as long as they also make money. Like ag coops. Make investment in Space look good.
SpaceX: Launching the Competition!
Surprising they will launch in about a year though. SpaceX has a thick manifest as it is, though there is some potential slack at Vandenberg. Probably not altering the Soyuz dispenser very much? Plus will they pay the RTLS recovery penalty to speed up cycle times, or use droneship landing a lot?
SpaceX is speeding up oneweb's death process by helping them. The sooner they compete the constellation, the earlier their inferior economics become explicit