Ukraine war threatens cancellation of Bharti-backed OneWeb's satellite launch

As the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine spills over to various sectors across the world, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company OneWeb may have to pay a price for it. In an interview with Russia 24 TV channel, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, said that if OneWeb does not provide a guarantee that its satellites will not be used for military purposes, then its planned satellite launch on March 4 will be cancelled. OneWeb is set to launch 36 satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which Russia rents from Kazakhstan, on March 4. However, Rogozin said that if OneWeb does not provide the sought guarantee by 21:30 Moscow time on March 4, then the space agency wouldn't allow the use of Soyuz-2.1b rocket which is to be used for launching the satellites. 

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 Rogozin also said that his agency wants OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites are not going to be used against Russia, Interfax news agency reported. In November 2020, OneWeb had announced its emergence from bankruptcy. A consortium of UK Government and Bharti Global had invested $1 billion of new equity in the company to offer broadband connectivity services via a constellation of 650 LEO satellites. Also Read: Bharti-backed OneWeb launches 34 satellites; in-orbit fleet now stands at 428

OneWeb already has over 400 in-orbit constellation satellites. If the satellite launch is cancelled, Bharti Group will most likely become the first Indian corporate to face a direct consequence of the standoff between Russia and West on the former's invasion of Ukraine. In June last year, Bharti Group had said it will invest an additional $500 million (over Rs 3,700 crore) in OneWeb to become the largest shareholder in the company. On completion of the transaction and with Eutelsat's $550 million investment, Bharti will hold 38.6 per cent. The UK government, Eutelsat and SoftBank will each own 19.3 per cent, OneWeb had said in a statement then. In January this year, OneWeb signed new distribution partnership pacts with several companies, including Hughes Network Systems, Marlink, and Field Solutions Holdings, to help ensure connectivity is delivered to the most hard-to-reach places globally. Earlier in an interview with Business Today, Bharti Enterprises chairman and founder Sunil Bharti Mittal had said that OneWeb will make a very important contribution to the space industry by providing connectivity for those deprived of any chance of getting connectivity in the next 10-20 years.

Also Read: Sunil Bharti Mittal on 5G, Airtel Digital and OneWeb