British satellite broadband firm OneWeb has resumed launching satellites after falling into bankruptcy earlier this year.
The London-based telecommunications startup OneWeb completed its first launch of new satellites after being bought out of bankruptcy by the Indian conglomerate Bharti Global and the UK government.
Previous launches and new batch
The firm's first launch back in February involved 34 satellites and used a single Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It previously stated that it plans to build its own mega-constellation of satellites in the sky to deliver broadband internet globally and in 2019, it launched six spacecraft to prove the technology.
OneWeb's constellation is in competition with several other companies aiming to provide a similar kind of service, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink constellation.
The complete satellite network will comprise of approximately 650 satellites to achieve an orbital configuration. The first customers of the internet service will be from northern latitudes, before eventually being offered globally.
The firm's chief executive officer (CEO) Adrian Steckel said his start-up has nothing to fear from these "100lb gorillas". Steckel said: "I think they’re going to do great; we’re going to do great. There’s room for three or four of us. The world is a big place and the appetite for data is insatiable. This won’t be a game of 'winner takes all'."
"We consider ourselves as an international project, but we navigate in a difficult world where not everybody gets along. And our sense is that the UK’s flag and approach allows us to have dialogue with partners that we otherwise might not have the ability to do," he added.
In March, OneWeb launched an additional 34 new satellites to orbit to increase its mega-constellation to 74 satellites.
OneWeb decided to proceed with the launch following rumors that the firm may consider seeking bankruptcy protection and a Bloomberg report that indicated that the company was examining different options to address a possible cash crunch.
OneWeb launched 36 new satellites aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, which it purchased from the European aerospace company Arianespace. The launch was done from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Eastern Russia.
The firm plans 15 more satellite launches following the recent deployment to complete the internet delivery service. These launches are scheduled on a near-monthly basis starting February 2021.
OneWeb chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: "We will be on track for our 50-degree North service by October next year - so, in 10 months' time. Then, slowly getting to 22 degrees and then global by May or June 2022."
Bankruptcy and return
The company halted all operations earlier this year as it underwent Chapter 11 restructuring. Bharti Global and the British government became OneWeb's primary shareholders after raising $1 billion during bankruptcy proceedings.
The process successfully removed OneWeb's existing debts but around $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion of funding remain outstanding despite the $1 billion pumped into it by Bharti Global and the UK government.
According to the company, the network's intention is not to directly sell to individuals but to link them up through telecom partners.
"Then there is rural broadband - many schools, hospitals, critical installations in rural areas desperately need this connectivity. They will be spoken to," Mittal added.
He pointed out: "There are large enterprise customers like the cloud providers, such as Amazon or Google. Then you have the UK Ministry of Defence and US Department of Defense, of course. Maritime and aviation, which are really very important, I think is still some time away."
