A Soyuz-2.1b rocket with OneWeb satellites was successfully launched from Vostochny
Today, December 18, 2020, at 15:26 Moscow time, the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and a batch of 36 spacecraft of the OneWeb satellite communication system successfully launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome.
The launch was the only launch from Vostochny this year and the first fully commercial launch of spacecraft from this Russian cosmodrome.
According to the state corporation “Roscosmos”, the start and separation of the upper stage from the third stage of the carrier took place in the normal mode. At present, the Fregat upper stage is carrying out the launch of OneWeb spacecraft into a given orbit.
In accordance with the flight sequence, the satellites will be separated from the upper stage sequentially – in groups of four vehicles. This will take approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes.
We add that initially in 2020, it was planned to perform four missile launches with OneWeb satellites from Vostochny – in April, May, June and July. However, the launch program had to be revised due to the bankruptcy of OneWeb. As a result, only one of the planned launches was carried out.
