OneWeb: UK satellite firm suspends use of Russian rockets

OneWeb, the satellite company part-owned by the UK government, says it is suspending all launches from the Russian-operated Baikonur spaceport.

The firm had hoped to send up 36 spacecraft on a Soyuz rocket from the Kazakhstan cosmodrome, but the mission has become embroiled in the fall-out over the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia put down demands ahead of the flight that OneWeb could not meet.

These included a guarantee that armed forces wouldn't use the satellites.

Russia also wanted the UK government to divest itself of OneWeb shares, an ultimatum that was firmly rejected by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.

The board of OneWeb, which is headquartered in west London, voted on Thursday morning to suspend all future launches from Baikonur. It had been planning a series of flights from the cosmodrome this year to complete its broadband internet constellation in the sky.

The firm will now be working with its French partner Arianespace, which organises Soyuz launches around the world, to find alternative rocket rides.

This will be difficult, however. There is a dearth of available vehicles in the class needed by OneWeb.

The company currently has 428 spacecraft in orbit. This is sufficient to provide space-borne internet connections above 50 degrees North (which includes the UK), but close to 650 satellites are required to run a truly global service.