OneWeb launched its latest batch of satellites with SpaceX for the first time on Thursday, putting the satellite communications company on track to reach global coverage next year.
SpaceX launched the OneWeb 1 mission to low-Earth orbit at 5:27 p.m. ET on Dec. 8, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A video shared by Twitter user @debjshaw in St. Augustine shows the rocket rising high in the sky. “Gorgeous,” she says. “Thats what I love about this location, seeing these SpaceX launches.”
SpaceX said this was the fourth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, and one Starlink mission.
OneWeb launched 40 satellites on this mission, its fifteenth launch, bring its total constellation to 502 satellites. The company said the new satellites will expand connectivity services across the U.S., Europe, much of the Middle East and Asia, South Africa, southern Australia, and parts of South America.
“This launch is an immensely gratifying way to close out 2022, bringing OneWeb another step closer to activating our space-based connectivity globally,” said OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson. “We are delighted to work with SpaceX today for our first-ever launch from Florida, the home where our satellites are manufactured.”
OneWeb, which is already active in Alaska, Canada, the U.K., Greenland and wider Arctic area, said it has almost 80% of its first-generation constellation completed. The company said it will reach global coverage with three more launches.
