United Kingdom invests 20 million euros in OneWeb internet satellite network
The British space agency has invested more than 20 million euros in the OneWeb project via the ESA. This includes a project to eventually put more than 900 satellites into orbit to provide fast internet worldwide.
According to the UK Space Agency, the investment has brought this satellite network one step closer. The investment is specifically for OneWeb Sunrise, a project under the ESA’s Satellite for 5G program, which will prepare the OneWeb satellites to deliver 5G coverage worldwide. Initially, 650 satellites are to be launched, which should increase to over 900 satellites in due course. The first six satellites of the OneWeb network will be launched on February 26 from French Guiana.
An important goal of the satellite network is to provide fast internet by 2027 in places in the world where this is not self-evident. According to OneWeb, the network could provide internet to every school in the world by 2022. Other applications are, for example, providing internet in aircraft.
The satellites, weighing approximately 150 kilograms, are being built by Airbus Defense and Space and will be placed in low Earth orbit. These satellites are designed in such a way that they can be produced relatively quickly and cheaply, as if it were a mass production. To this end, fewer electrical connections have been made between the subsystems than is usual with contemporary satellites. The OneWeb satellites are equipped with systems to prevent collisions with any space debris, and when a satellite is taken out of service, it automatically goes out of orbit so that it isn’t left behind as space debris.
OneWeb is a British company based in London and has approximately two hundred employees. In addition to the United Kingdom, five other ESA member states and Canada are participating in the project. The UK is the first country to now provide funding. Richard Branson, the director and founder of the Virgin Group, is also a major investor for the OneWeb project, as are the SoftBank Group, Airbus and Qualcomm.