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:
August 24, 2020

The preliminary date of the first launch of satellites of the Russian low-orbit communication system “Gonets” on the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket has been determined, the…

full story
July 18, 2014

Group of cosmonauts (admission 2012) started survival trainings under desert or near desert conditions at Baikonur. Several days ago they had a theoretical course and…

full story
November 10, 2021

Tonight Russian Mission Control Centre may accomplish debris avoidance maneuver aimed at protecting ISS from the debris of Chinese satellite. Roscosmos is scrutinizing the level…

full story
November 28, 2013

Russian cargo vehicle Progress M-21M successfully carried out ISS rendezvous maneuver testing a new “Kurs-NA” docking system. After this maneuver the spaceship retreated to a…

full story
June 10, 2019

At the Vostochny cosmodrome, specialists of Roscosmos enterprises – “TSENKI” and RSC “Progress” (members of Roscosmos State Corporation), in accordance with the preparation schedule, completed…

full story
August 27, 2014

At the present time RSC Energia specialists are conducting Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft leak tests in 2b integration building of #2 launchpad. At the same time…

full story
December 15, 2014

The launch of RS-20 booster with Condor-E №2 satellite from Baikonur spaceport is scheduled for December 18, – Roscosmos spokesman reports. The launch of RS-20…

full story
October 29, 2015

On Wednesday Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems started implementing unique Moon-2015 project. According to this project 6 women will spend 8 days in closed space…

full story