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During the International Space Summit, in Paris, and in the presence of Philippe Baptiste, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Space for France, Eutelsat has ordered 229 more satellites from Airbus to strengthen its OneWeb constellation.
Eutelsat has signed an Authorisation to Proceed (ATP) with Airbus Defence and Space covering initial industrial activities for these 229 satellites. They are planned in addition to the 440 satellites already procured from Airbus due for delivery and launch soon. It will bring the total of new OneWeb satellites manufactured by Airbus to 669, and will ensure and enhance service continuity of the OneWeb constellation.
The satellites will be manufactured at Airbus Defence and Space’s Toulouse facility, already actively delivering the previous batches, enabling production continuity, rapid and homogeneous delivery rate.
Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network delivers high-speed, low-latency connectivity on a global basis. With over 600 satellites flying in 12 synchronised orbital planes 1,200km above the Earth, the constellation brings high-speed internet to every corner of the planet. The availability of these latest satellites will assure full operational continuity for customers of the constellation, progressively replacing early batches coming to the end of their operational life.
This new batch will encompass all features from the previous satellites and improvements gained throughout the programme development. Notably, advanced digital channelisers, for enhanced onboard processing capabilities, efficiency and flexibility, as well as the capacity to embark hosted payloads in addition to the OneWeb Ku mission.
“This is an exciting next step for OneWeb and for Eutelsat’s LEO strategy. With the first satellites from the 440 due for delivery and launch soon, our replenishment programme is moving forward. The planned addition of 229 more satellites will further strengthen OneWeb, while IRIS² will bring significant new capacity and capabilities. Together, they give us a powerful roadmap to serve our customers, grow our LEO business and reinforce our role at the heart of Europe’s sovereign connectivity future,” said Jean-François Fallacher, Eutelsat Chief Executive Officer.
“This new contract from Eutelsat highlights the maturity of our product, the excellence of our supply chain and their trust in our industrial know-how for high rate satellite manufacturing for large-scale LEO constellations . This is also a further step for European sovereignty, for which Airbus and Eutelsat have been key partners for decades!” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems in Airbus Defence and Space.
