Russia successfully launched 36 British Internet and communications satellites into Earth orbit

On April 26, the Russian national space agency Roscosmos said that Russia's Soyuz rocket successfully carried out its mission of putting 36 British Internet and communication satellites into orbit, serving the ambition of providing global Internet coverage.

Images from Roscosmos show the Soyuz rocket lifting off from the launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East. The launch took place at 7:14 a.m. local time on April 26. Roscosmos' announcement stated that the Soyuz rocket successfully launched 36 satellites from the British company OneWeb into Earth orbit. Meanwhile, on its Twitter account, OneWeb confirmed the mission was successful.

Headquartered in London, England, OneWeb intends to deploy a total of more than 650 satellites in low Earth orbit, providing users on the ground with high-speed Internet 24 hours a day via communication satellites. The company is also competing with billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the race to cover high-speed Internet via satellite to every corner of the world, especially remote areas.

This is the third launch of OneWeb's constellation into Earth orbit by Russia, following two previous missions in December 2020 and March from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with 36 satellites each. The first six OneWeb satellites were launched from the French Guiana launch site in February 2019, and last year the company launched 68 more satellites from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.

According to VNA