British OneWeb communications satellites have been successfully launched into orbit using a Russian Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket, OneWeb has announced.
“Mission success! #OneWebLaunch Thanks to the hard work of our incredible team and partners, we’ve successfully launched 36 satellites by @Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, with signal acquisition confirmed for all satellites,” OneWeb said on Twitter.
The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the UK satellites was launched from the Vostochny spaceport at 02:47 GMT on Thursday. Shortly after, the Fregat upper stage separated from the rocket’s third stage and the booster then reached the designated orbit.
This was the first launch from the Vostochny spaceport this year. In December 2020, another 36 OneWeb satellites were successfully launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
According to Sputnik sources, a total of three launches of OneWeb satellites from Vostochny are planned for 2021. The next launch of 36 UK satellites is set for the end of April.
