Jack Loughran Wed 18 Dec 2024
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2024/12/18/airbus-build-100-next-gen-satellites-onewebs-expanding-network
Airbus will launch 100 new satellites to expand OneWeb, the low-Earth orbit communications constellation partly owned by the UK government.
OneWeb operator Eutelsat said the firm would help to build the constellation’s second generation of satellites that will include various upgrades, including integration with 5G networks back on Earth.
Around 100 new satellites will be built by Airbus, which will also be designed for compatibility with Europe’s upcoming IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) constellation. Once complete, the €6bn IRIS2 will provide secure communications, location tracking and security surveillance services to governmental agencies, although it will not have the capacity for broader coverage provided by similar services such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
OneWeb completed its initial constellation of 654 first-generation satellites in March 2023. They orbit at an altitude of around 1,200km above the Earth, with 600 used for coverage and the rest for redundancy.
OneWeb was originally trying to provide satellite internet worldwide with a constellation of up to 648 satellites. But by 2020, after launching just 74 satellites, it had reached the brink of bankruptcy . The UK government rescued OneWeb by buying a major stake alongside India’s Bharti Global.
Ministers at the time hoped the purchase could revitalise the UK’s space sector, which was dealt a major blow in 2018 when it was forced to leave the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation project.
The new batch of 100 satellites from Airbus is expected to be manufactured and launched by late 2026.
Eva Berneke, Eutelsat Group CEO, said: “Our in-market experience shows us that the appetite for low-Earth orbit capacity is growing rapidly, and we are excited to embark on the next stage of our journey to satisfy that demand.”
Alain Fauré, head of space systems at Airbus Defence and Space, said: “Airbus manufactured all of the current OneWeb satellite fleet. We are committed to the successful continuation of the OneWeb constellation and to keep serving the business of Eutelsat as we have done over the past decades.”
In November, the European Commission said it would contract the SpaceRISE consortium – which includes firms SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat – to develop, deploy and operate the IRIS2 system.
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