The launch of UK OneWeb satellites from Kourou space center with the Fregat booster on Russia's Soyuz carrier rocket has been postponed until February 26, OneWeb Chairman Greg Wyler confirmed on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2019) The launch of UK OneWeb satellites from Kourou space center with the Fregat booster on Russia's Soyuz carrier rocket has been postponed until February 26, OneWeb Chairman Greg Wyler confirmed on Wednesday.
On Friday, a source from the Russian space industry told Sputnik that the launch had been postponed from February 22 to February 26. It was initially scheduled for February 20, but then delayed, since a seam rupture in a pipeline that supplies helium to fuel tanks of the Fregat booster was identified. It was reportedly fixed since then.
"New date: Tuesday, Feb 26. Four day slip! This is new territory launching so many autonomous spacecraft, and they were factory built. Two firsts, so we are moving carefully in every way. A few days here or there to double check rockets, routines and process is ok by me," Wyler posted on Twitter.
OneWeb plans to create a constellation of satellites that will provide broadband internet access to users around the world, fully covering the Earth surface. Fregat will launch six first OneWeb satellites.
