Airbus : OneWeb is “on top of the world” after its latest launch

OneWeb will soon begin delivering connectivity services to the northern regions of Earth after yesterday's eighth launch of satellite clusters for this operator's pioneering next-generation constellation that will provide global internet access anytime, anywhere.

Bringing the total number of spacecraft in low-Earth orbit to 254, this latest deployment put the spotlight on OneWeb's 50/50 joint venture with Airbus - called Airbus OneWeb Satellites - which has completely reimagined the satellite design and production process. Airbus OneWeb Satellites has fully industrialised it, enabling hundreds of spacecraft to be built more rapidly - at a fraction of the cost and time it traditionally takes.

As design lead, Airbus challenged every assumption, revised the status quo and reformulated what people thought was possible - and as a result, the original assembly line was set up in Toulouse France and the Airbus OneWeb Satellites' facilities in Florida's Merritt Island in the U.S. can now produce two spacecraft each day (while traditional manufacturing approaches require 12-18 months to produce a single satellite).

Responsible and sustainable practices were integrated into the satellite and system design right from the earliest stages, with OneWeb spacecraft built to exceed all space debris mitigation standards - a key consideration as more and more projects are sent to space in the years to come.