Arianespace Aborts OneWeb Launch Sequence Carrying 34 Satellites Due to Non-Nominal Event

An Arianespace Soyuz rocket bringing the 34 satellites of OneWeb's Launch 9 mission to space was supposed to launch from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome at 6:23 p.m. EDT today (3:23 a.m. August 20 Baikonur's local time). But the satellite launch company said they aborted the launch due to a "non-nominal incident during the last automated sequence." Arianespace added they're now expecting to launch the satellites on August 21.

Soyuz Expected to Bring 34 OneWeb Spacecraft Worth 12,165 Pounds

Space.com said the 34 OneWeb spacecraft weigh in at a total of 5,518 kilograms (12,165 pounds). They will all separate from the Soyuz three hours and 45 minutes after liftoff on launch day. The satellites will launch into a near-polar orbit at the height of 450 kilometers (280 miles), then gradually ascend to their operational orbit, which is 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) above Earth.

The Launch 9 mission will increase the number of satellites in the OneWeb constellation to 288, launched by Arianespace in nine previous flights (hence the "Launch 9" moniker). And the fleet will grow significantly.

Arianespace said in the mission description that OneWeb's constellation of 650 satellites would provide high-speed, low-latency enterprise connectivity services to a wide range of client sectors, including enterprise, government, marine, and aviation.

The OneWeb constellation, according to Arianespace, will provide 3G, LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi coverage, as well as high-speed access internationally - via air, sea, and land.

Launch

NASASpaceFlight said the countdown began five hours and ten minutes before liftoff. Soyuz commenced fuelling with RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen 40 minutes later, at T-4 hours 30 minutes.

The service gantry clamshell lowers down its launch position at T-35 minutes. Two servicing arms will draw away from Soyuz towards the conclusion of the terminal count, followed by the instruction to ignite the rocket's four RD-107A engines, one on each booster, and the center RD-108A engine at T-16 seconds.

The first stage, which consists of four side boosters, will fire for 118 seconds before separating in the Korolev Cross.

The second stage, often known as the core, will burn until T+4 minutes 48 seconds.

At T+3 minutes 38 seconds, the payload fairing, which shields the satellites from aerodynamic and thermodynamic stresses during ascent, will be discarded.

The third stage will separate from the second stage through a "hot fire" separation, which means its single RD-0124 engine will ignite while the stages are still connected. The third stage will take almost four minutes to burn.

The Fregat stage will fire for a 5-minute burn once the third stage has been shut down, putting the rocket and cargo into a parking orbit. The Fregat stage will be reactivated later to circularize the deployment orbit.

The 34 satellites will subsequently be deployed over many hours by the RUAG Space-designed payload dispenser. The Fregat will execute attitude corrections between satellite separation events to ensure that the payloads are released in the proper orientation.

OneWeb 9 has a mission length of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

OneWeb Wants to Place More Commercial Internet Service in Various Parts of the Planet

OneWeb plans to launch a commercial internet service by 2021. In the same mission description, Arianespace representatives said that the Alaska, Arctic region, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe, including the United Kingdom, will be the first places to be covered.

OneWeb isn't the only firm planning to launch a fleet of broadband satellites into low Earth orbit. SpaceX, for example, has launched over 1,700 Starlink satellites to date and is now beta-testing the broadband service they provide.

Thousands of Starlink satellites might be launched by SpaceX in the future, Science Times reported. Amazon also plans to launch over 3,000 of its own broadband spaceships, though none have yet been put into orbit.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.