As tensions continue to escalate and international sanctions rise after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has compiled a list of requests to launch its client OneWeb’s mission this week. This situation is interpreted as Russia taking OneWeb hostage.
One of OneWeb’s satellites was scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on March 5, but with new demands, that launch seems unlikely.
Roscosmos leader Dmitry Rogozin, in a video shared on Twitter, asked OneWeb for assurance that the company’s satellites will not be used for military purposes. He also asked the British Government, one of OneWeb’s main stakeholders, to sell their stake in the firm, saying that if these demands are not met, the launch will not take place on the scheduled date.
OneWeb, which aims to provide internet connection from space using a huge series of satellites in low Earth orbit, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink system, has been using its satellites in packages of 34 and 36 satellites with Russian Soyuz rockets from French Guiana or Kazakhstan for the last few years. throwing it. The launch, scheduled this week, was expected to bring 36 new satellites into orbit.
Following this statement, which came as a shock to OneWeb employees, the British government said that these requests would not be met and that they are talking to other stakeholders about next steps.
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