Russian State Commission Allows Launch Of Soyuz-2.1b Rocket With OneWeb Satellites

Russian State Commission Allows Launch of Soyuz-2.1b Rocket With OneWeb Satellites

The state commission at the Baikonur cosmodrome has cleared the Monday launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with 36 OneWeb satellites on board, allowing the rocket to be filled with fuel, Russian space agency Roscosmos said

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th December, 2021) The state commission at the Baikonur cosmodrome has cleared the Monday launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with 36 OneWeb satellites on board, allowing the rocket to be filled with fuel, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

This is the first time the agency will launch 36 communication satellites, instead of 34, from Baikonur.

"The Commission confirmed the scheduled lift-off time of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle (at 13:10:37 UTC) and gave the go-ahead to loading the launch vehicle with propellants," Roscomos tweeted.

In June 2015, Roscosmos signed contracts with OneWeb and Arianespace for 21 commercial launches from Baikonur, the Guiana Space Centre, and Vostochny spaceports. In September 2020, OneWeb reduced the number of launches to 19, 11 of which have already taken place.