PARIS, August 21. /TASS/: The Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket and 34 British OneWeb satellites whose launch has been rescheduled for August 22, are in stable and safe conditions, launch service provider Arianespace said.
"Upon the request of OneWeb, Arianespace has decided to postpone the launch for 24 hours to allow for additional time for mission planning preparation linked to the updated lift-off. The Soyuz launch vehicle and the 34 OneWeb spacecraft are in stable and safe conditions," Arianespace pointed out.
The launch is now expected to take place at 00:13 am Paris time (01:13 am Moscow time) on August 22. The rocket was first scheduled for a liftoff from the Baikonur spaceport at 01:23 am Moscow time on August 20 but the launch was rescheduled for August 21 after pre-launch preparations had been automatically cancelled. The launch will take the number of satellites in the OneWeb constellation to 288.
The first six OneWeb satellites were orbited by a Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou spaceport on February 28, 2019. Another 34 satellites were delivered into orbit on February 7, 2020, and 34 more on March 21, 2020, from the Baikonur spaceport. OneWeb satellites were first launched from the Vostochny spaceport in December 2020. A total of 36 space vehicles were put into orbit. More launches from the Vostochny spaceport took place on March 25, April 26, May 28 and July 1.
