Artist’s rendition of a OneWeb satellite. Photo: OneWeb

OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb, carried out the first delivery of the first satellites for the OneWeb constellation. OneWeb Satellites will now turn its focus to ramping up production of the full constellation of satellites in its new factory in Florida.

The satellites were manufactured at the OneWeb Satellites facility on the Airbus Defense and Space Toulouse site, and the first six have been shipped to Kourou for launch. The first launch of the mega constellation is scheduled for Feb 19. on a Soyuz rocket — the beginning of a long series.

The Toulouse OneWeb Satellites facility is being used to validate the production methods necessary to manufacture these satellites at scale, de-risk any potential issues, and lay the framework for the larger multi-line OneWeb Satellites factory near the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The satellites weigh approximately 150 kg and will operate in near-polar, 1,200km Low Earth Orbit (LEO) orbit.