{"id":34527,"date":"2023-05-19T07:46:58","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T06:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=34527"},"modified":"2023-05-22T10:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T09:57:53","slug":"oneweb-to-launch-final-15-and-1-prototype-broadband-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/05\/oneweb-to-launch-final-15-and-1-prototype-broadband-satellite.html","title":{"rendered":"OneWeb to Launch Final 15 and 1 Prototype Broadband Satellite UPDATE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Space firm OneWeb<\/a>, which is part-owned by the UK government, has announced that the final batch of 15 first generation (GEN1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) based ultrafast (100Mbps+) and low-latency (sub-100ms) broadband satellites – plus a single GEN2 prototype “Joey-Sat<\/em>” – are to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket today.<\/p>\n

The company has so far launched 618 of their small c.150kg LEO based broadband satellites into space (now 634) – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km above the Earth (588 of them are for coverage and the rest redundancy) – and in March 2023 they announced that this marked the completion of their global network (here<\/a>). But at the time we also noted that this wasn’t entirely correct because a smaller batch of GEN1s were still waiting to be launched.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> UK ISP BT<\/a> are currently working with OneWeb<\/a> to trial a rural broadband solution for premises on Lundy Island<\/strong>, near the north Devon coast (here<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The good news is that OneWeb<\/a> confirmed last night that one of SpaceX’s planned launches – set for today – would include their final batch 15 GEN1 satellites. The Falcon 9<\/strong> rocket will also be carrying satellites from Iridium, and the vehicle will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.<\/p>\n

However, the most interesting development is that this launch will also contain the first \u00a332m prototype of OneWeb’s experimental Second Generation (GEN2<\/strong>) beam-hopping satellite<\/a> – part funded by the UK Space Agency<\/strong> and nicknamed “Joey-Sat<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

OneWeb’s Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n

This launch will add another 15 satellites to OneWeb\u2019s LEO satellite<\/a> fleet, increasing resiliency and redundancy to the network. Also included in this launch is an innovative demonstration satellite<\/a> named JoeySat.<\/p>\n

JoeySat contains several new technologies including a digitally regenerative payload and demonstration of multi-beam electronically steered phased array antennas. The payload developed through the Sunrise Partnership programme funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and UK Space Agency (UKSA), will test an innovative beam-hopping capability that will allow satellites to switch between different places on Earth and adjust the strength of the communications signals based on customer needs or demands.<\/p>\n

OneWeb is a wholesale connectivity provider delivering high-performance, low-latency network services for consumer-facing distribution partners such as telecommunications and internet service providers. OneWeb\u2019s partners integrate the LEO service into their offerings to deliver solutions such as community wifi<\/a>, cellular backhaul, corporate connectivity as well as high-speed connectivity for maritime and aviation customers.<\/p>\n

OneWeb\u2019s solutions are now active in unserved and underserved rural and remote communities in the U.S., UK, and Canada with more solutions due to come online in the near term.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The advantage of beam-hopping like this is that it will enable the operator to boost coverage in certain locations, such as areas of high usage, where the network may be struggling to cope with demand (e.g. managing real-time surges in commercial demand or responding to emergencies, such as natural disasters). A number of other satellites already have similar technologies, such as Avanti’s HYLAS fleet.<\/p>\n

Sadly, we don’t have a full list of all the new technologies being tested by Joey-Sat, or any information on whether it will sit in a LEO or MEO orbit. OneWeb has approval for a total of 2,000 satellites (although they may go beyond that) and 1,280 of those will be the future GEN2 model that could sit in a higher Medium Earth Orbit<\/strong> (MEO) of 8,500km, which are widely expected to have more data capacity, support 5G<\/a> mobile and may, possibly, introduce enhanced navigation and positioning features (something the UK government wants).<\/p>\n

The upside of being placed into a higher orbit is that each satellite will be able to cover a much wider area of the Earth\u2019s surface, although the downside is that performance (mainly latency) will suffer. But it is possible to balance this by using LEOs for latency intensive applications (e.g. multiplayer video games, voice calls) and MEOs to help with more data transfer intensive activities (e.g. file downloads and video streaming).<\/p>\n

The first non-prototype MEO satellites won’t be ready until 2024-25 and this is still dependent upon the company being able to raise another \u00a33bn of funding (here<\/a>). Today’s launch is currently scheduled to take place no earlier than 2:19pm (BST) today, although it’s not uncommon for such attempts to suffer delays. You’ll be able to watch a live stream of all this below.<\/p>\n