OneWeb files for Chapter 11

[bxr140]

Well, that was fast.

Next launch is in a few weeks.

 

[Mr. Jim]

Hopefully this won't just turn into a bunch of space junk which interferes with terrestrial astronomy.

 

[bxr140]

A ~week ago OneWeb launched a set of sats from the "new" Vostochny site. OW's current push is production service above 50° by end of year. Its hard to ferret out what "service" actually looks like, but its likely something in the 50-down range (maybe up to 1gig total per sat).

Successful Launch Marks Key Milestone for OneWeb’s ‘Five to 50’ Ambition | OneWeb

OneWeb looking to fill demand for connectivity in the Arctic - SpaceNews

 

[Cosmacelf]

As usual with Elon’s companies, Elon has service/products now while the competition is always sometime in the future.

 

[bxr140]

As usual with Elon’s companies, Elon has service/products now while the competition is always sometime in the future.

To be fair, Elonco does not have service/product now over the poles, it is sometime in the future. I don't know that we know when "the future" is for production level Starlink coverage over the poles; best guess is it will likely require 6-8 dedicated launches which will surely be de-prioritized relative to filling out the primary constellation for something like ~>20° or >25° production service. The 10 polar Starlinks are really just on a pathfinder mission. They're all in close formation in the same orbital plane, which is all but worthless for users (they're currently over Africa right now)

OneWeb currently has ~146 production sats in polar orbit, all which concentrate service at high latitudes (hence the >50°). 3 more launches gets them production level coverage.

 

[Cosmacelf]

To be fair, Elonco does not have service/product now over the poles, it is sometime in the future. I don't know that we know when "the future" is for production level Starlink coverage over the poles; best guess is it will likely require 6-8 dedicated launches which will surely be de-prioritized relative to filling out the primary constellation for something like ~>20° or >25° production service. The 10 polar Starlinks are really just on a pathfinder mission. They're all in close formation in the same orbital plane, which is all but worthless for users (they're currently over Africa right now)

OneWeb currently has ~146 production sats in polar orbit, all which concentrate service at high latitudes (hence the >50°). 3 more launches gets them production level coverage.

True. Oneweb will have a different market. My bet is that polar starlinks will continue to launched on rideshares, which means, only occasionally.

We should either rename this thread or start a new OneWeb one. probably start a new one.