Eutelsat Orders 229 Additional OneWeb Satellites for €1 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 10, Eutelsat announced an additional order of 229 OneWeb low Earth orbit satellites from Airbus Defence and Space, with an estimated investment of approximately €1 billion. This procurement will further expand upon the 440 satellites previously ordered, bringing the total number of new satellites manufactured by Airbus for OneWeb to 669, intended to gradually replace early-generation satellites currently in service and expand constellation capacity.

The two parties have signed an Authorisation to Proceed (ATP) covering the initial industrial production activities for the 229 satellites. The satellites will be manufactured at Airbus's Toulouse facility, which is already responsible for the production of the previous 440 OneWeb satellites. The first satellites from the previous order are expected to begin delivery and launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the additional 229 satellites will support OneWeb's continued renewal and capacity expansion through 2034.

OneWeb's current low Earth orbit constellation comprises more than 600 satellites distributed across 12 orbital planes at an operating altitude of approximately 1,200 km, primarily providing global high-speed, low-latency satellite connectivity services. The new satellites will be equipped with digital channelizers to enhance onboard signal processing capability, efficiency, and configuration flexibility, and will have the capability to host third-party payloads while continuing to carry out OneWeb's Ku-band communication missions.

Eutelsat stated that the additional 229 satellites are expected to maintain OneWeb service continuity and increase communication capacity for existing and new customers. The company is simultaneously advancing the EU's IRIS² satellite communication system, whose low Earth orbit commercial Ku-band constellation is expected to become operational by mid-2032; by then, IRIS² will be able to provide more than twice OneWeb's current communication capacity.

Regarding launch arrangements, Eutelsat on the same day selected Arianespace to carry out two OneWeb dedicated launch missions, with satellites planned to be launched aboard Ariane 64 rockets from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana in 2027 and 2028 respectively. The specific number of OneWeb satellites to be carried on each mission has not yet been announced.

This order for 229 satellites is an additional procurement on top of the previous 440-satellite purchase plan. In February of this year, Eutelsat secured approximately €1 billion in export credit financing, of which approximately €975 million received a French state export credit guarantee, specifically supporting the previous OneWeb low Earth orbit satellite procurement plan.