– Following this 8^th launch for OneWeb, Arianespace has deployed 254 satellites in low Earth orbit for the constellation.

– ST33 Flight, conducted by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate, has placed into orbit enough satellites, allowing OneWeb to deliver connectivity services in Canada, U.K., Northern Europe, Alaska and Arctic regions by the years end.

Performed on Thursday, July 1^st at precisely 09:48 p.m. local time at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome (12:48 p.m. UTC), Soyuz Flight ST33  lifted-off with 36 new OneWeb satellites onboard, bringing after the successful deployment the size of the fleet in orbit to 254. Flight ST33 was the 58^th Soyuz mission carried out by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate.

“This new launch was very special, marking the completion of OneWeb’s ‘Five to 50’ ambition to bring into orbit the satellites required to enable connectivity services to the 50th parallel and above by years end which includes Canada, U.K., Northern Europe, Alaska and Arctic regions,” said Stéphane Israël, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace and Starsem. “Congratulations to all the teams who made this eighth launch dedicated to OneWeb’s satellites a success!”

Arianespace has launched 254 OneWeb satellites through eight Soyuz launches to date. Arianespace will perform 11 more Soyuz launches for OneWeb through 2021 and 2022. These launches will enable OneWeb to complete the deployment of its full global constellation of low Earth orbit satellites before the end of 2022.

OneWeb’s mission is to create a global connectivity platform through a next-generation satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. The OneWeb constellation will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity to a wide range of customer sectors, including aviation, maritime, enterprise and governments. Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to the hardest to reach places, where fiber cannot reach, and thereby bridge the digital divide.

The satellite prime contractor is OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture of OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space. The satellites were produced in Florida, USA in its leading-edge satellite manufacturing facilities that can build up to two satellites per day on a series production line dedicated to spacecraft assembly, integration, and testing.

About Arianespace

Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited more than 900 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and from the Russian cosmodromes in Baikonur and Vostochny. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the European launcher industry. www.arianespace.com

About Starsem

Starsem is dedicated to providing international commercial marketing and operation of the Soyuz launch vehicle from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Shareholders in Starsem are Arianespace, ArianeGroup, the State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS and the Samara Space Center “RKTs-Progress.” www.starsem.com