MOSCOW. March 9 (Interfax) - Roscosmos has scheduled for 2021 ten launches of satellites of British company OneWeb, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said in a statement.
"In 2021, there will be launches of the MLM [Multipurpose Laboratory Module] and the node module to the ISS, as well as the launch of Luna-35 with the European Pilot-D [camera], the launch of two Angara LVs [launch vehicles], the launch of a Soyuz spaceship with space tourists on board, and about ten OneWeb launches carrying 36 satellites each (not to mention federal and other space launches, as well as launches planned consistent with the manned program)," Rogozin said on Telegram.
It was reported earlier that a Soyuz-2.1b rocket was due to launch OneWeb satellites on March 25.
In June 2015, Roscosmos and Arianespace signed a contract for 21 commercial launches of 672 OneWeb telecom satellites on Soyuz-2 rockets with Fregat boosters from the Baikonur and Vostochny cosmodromes and the Guiana Space Center in Kourou. The reported value of the contract is $1.2 billion.
The first six OneWeb satellites were launched from the Guiana Space Center (French Guiana) on February 28, 2019, using a Soyuz-ST launch vehicle and a Fregat upper stage.
The next 34 satellites were put into orbit on February 7, 2020, and another 34 were sent up on March 22, 2020, having been launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicles and Fregat upper stages.
After the third launch, OneWeb declared bankruptcy and started looking for new investors.
The company said it was selling the business within the framework of the bankruptcy procedure. According to company representatives, the company was close to receiving financing as a result of talks with investors, but the process was slow, due to the market turbulence created by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Western media reports, several Chinese companies have already offered financial support to OneWeb.
At present, the company has 110 satellites in orbit providing global Internet coverage. Half of its 44 ground stations have now been built or are nearing completion.