The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 34 OneWeb communication satellites was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Roskosmos reports.
“Fregat” with satellites separated from the third stage of the rocket, the launching of the devices by the upper stage will take about 3.5 hours. The satellites will separate in nine stages at different points in the orbit. It is planned that the entire mission from launch to separation of the last satellite will take 3 hours and 45 minutes.
As the general director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin noted in his Telegram channel, the launch took place normally. “There is a section of the Fregat upper stage with 34 spacecraft,” he wrote.
This year it is the second launch of OneWeb satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome. After that, the number of spacecraft of the British company in orbit should be 322.
On August 22, the low-orbit constellation of British satellites OneWeb was replenished with 34 more devices. The contract for the launch of Soyuz rockets with OneWeb satellites was signed in 2015. In total, the OneWeb project provides for the creation of an orbital constellation of 600 satellites. It must provide all inhabitants of the planet with high-speed Internet access.
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