This year, four launches were also planned, but they were postponed due to the pandemic, the head of the state corporation noted
VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME / Amur region/, December 18. / TASS/. Roscosmos plans to launch approximately six British OneWeb communications satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome in 2021. This was stated on Friday by the General Director of the state corporation Dmitry Rogozin.
"The load on Vostochny next year will be much higher: these are OneWeb launches (there will be about six of them, maybe even more), this is also a lunar mission, which is extremely important," Rogozin said.
According to the head of Roscosmos, this year four launches were planned under the program, but due to the pandemic, the production of spacecraft was suspended. "by the end of the year, only one bundle was delivered - 36 devices. We launched them today. but these launches will not disappear, they will move on to 2021, " he explained, stressing that at the end of february, roscosmos plans to resume launches in the east.
The first six satellites of the British company OneWeb went into orbit from the Kourou cosmodrome on a Soyuz-ST rocket on February 28, 2019. from baikonur on february 7 of this year, 34 more satellites were launched into space, and on march 21 - 34 more vehicles. For the first time, OneWeb satellites were launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome on Friday. 36 vehicles were put into orbit. in total, the company intends to deploy about 600 satellites in low-earth orbit.
The updated agreement between OneWeb and Arianespace (the French company that acts as the operator) involves the launch of 16 Russian Soyuz rockets from the Kourou, Vostochny and Baikonur cosmodromes in 2020-2022. Each launch will allow you to put 34-36 vehicles into orbit.