April 22, 2021
Categories: Russia

The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 36 OneWeb communications satellites was rolled out from the Assembly and Test Facility. The launch vehicle was installed on the launch pad of the Vostochny Сosmodrome, the launch is scheduled for Monday, April 25, at 22:14 UTC (April 26, at 01:14 Moscow time).

Pre-launch activities are carried out under the contracts of Glavkosmos (a subsidiary of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos) with the European launch services provider Arianespace, which provides and operates the launch of OneWeb spacecraft with the use of the Soyuz launch vehicle, and the Russian-French company Starsem. The work with the foreign customers is carried out by the representatives of other Roscosmos enterprises: Progress Space Rocket Center, Lavochkin Association, and TsENKI.

Now, the specialists at the spaceport are performing the final technical operations. The pre-launch tests of Soyuz-2.1b systems are being conducted, and the interfaces between the on-board instruments and ground equipment are being checked. This launch will be the third fully commercial launch of spacecraft from Vostochny. The previous two launches were also for the OneWeb mission.

Now, the fleet of the OneWeb satellites in the low Earth orbit amounts to 146 spacecraft, and hundreds more are to be launched. The upcoming launch should bring the number of OneWeb spacecraft in orbit to 182. OneWeb low Earth orbit satellites are designed to provide consumers on the ground with high-speed Internet.

More from this category:
February 3, 2014

XXII Winter Olympic Games start in a week. The story of choosing Sochi as Olympic Capital started in 2007. The application was supported from space…

full story
November 19, 2021

The Progress M-UM cargo spacecraft-module carrying the Prichal Node Module has been sent to final assembly with the launch vehicle at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Today…

full story
October 8, 2021

Russian crewmembers of the 65th long-term expedition to the International Space Station work in accordance with the flight task. Today, October 7, 2021, in preparation…

full story
October 25, 2019

At NPO “Energomash” (part of Roscosmos State Corporation), the commission successfully accepted the next batch of RD-180 liquid rocket engines, manufactured at the enterprise. Representatives…

full story
February 19, 2019

At the Baikonur cosmodrome preparations are continuing for the launch of the “Soyuz MS-12” spacecraft. Completed checking the systems and compartments of the ship for…

full story
November 6, 2014

Thirsday morning Strategic Missile Troops of Russia succesfully launched SS-18 Satan (Russian – РС-20Б) in frames of conversion program, representative of missile troops colonel Igor…

full story
May 16, 2014

On May 16,2014 at 01.42, Moscow time Proton-M booster with Briz-M upper stage and Express-AM4R satellite was launched from Baikonur spaceport. The satellite wasn’t orbited…

full story
April 1, 2019

Today, on April 1, the “Soyuz-2.1a” rocket with a “Progress MS-11” cargo spaceship was rolled out from the Assembly and Testing Building and installed at…

full story