Arianespace & Roscosmos - OneWeb 4 / Flight ST29 Mission poster.
Dec. 18, 2020
Soyuz-2.1b carrying OneWeb launch
Today, December 18, 2020, at 15:26:26 Moscow time, the launching calculations of the subsidiaries of the State Corporation Roscosmos from the Vostochny cosmodrome launched the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and 36 new OneWeb spacecraft on board. According to telemetry data, the start and separation of the upper stage from the third stage of the carrier took place in the normal mode.
Soyuz-2.1b launches OneWeb 4
Video above: For Arianespace’s ST29 mission, a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle launched 36 OneWeb satellites from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia, on 18 December 2020, at 12:26:26 UTC (21:26:26 local time). ST29 is Arianespace’s first commercial mission from Vostochny Cosmodrome and the fourth launch for the OneWeb constellation.
OneWeb satellites carrier
After the successful separation of the warhead, the Fregat upper stage continued to launch the vehicles into the assigned orbit. Over the next 3 hours and 40 minutes, OneWeb satellites will sequentially separate (in groups of four satellites) from the upper stage in accordance with the flight sequence.
OneWeb Mission Diagram (In Russian)
The Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle was created at the Progress Rocket and Space Center (Samara, part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) and is a modification of Soyuz-2. In comparison with variant "1a" it has an engine with increased energy characteristics at the 3rd stage. The Soyuz-2.1b has higher launch accuracy, stability and controllability than the previous version, and an increased payload mass.
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/29698/
Arianespace: https://www.arianespace.com/
OneWeb: https://www.oneweb.world/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: Arianespace/OneWeb/Roscosmos/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch