A Soyuz rocket carrying 34 of OneWeb's broadband satellites lifted off today (Feb. 6) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, rising off the pad at 4:42 p.m. EST (2142 GMT; 2:42 a.m. on Feb. 7 local time).
The Soyuz — which is operated by French company Arianespace — deployed all 34 spacecraft as planned by 3 hours and 45 minutes after launch, at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometers). The 325-lb. (147 kilograms) satellites will then make their own way to their operational orbit, which lies about 745 miles (1,200 km) above Earth.
Today's launch was the second for OneWeb but the first to loft such a big batch for the company. The previous OneWeb mission, also flown by a Soyuz, put six satellites up in February 2019.
But the launch cadence will ramp up significantly, and soon: Arianespace's deal with OneWeb calls for 19 additional liftoffs through the end of 2021. These missions will flesh out OneWeb's initial constellation of 650 satellites, which "will provide high-speed, low latency services to a wide range of customers in sectors that include aeronautics, maritime, backhaul services, community Wi-Fi, emergency response services and more," OneWeb and Arianespace representatives wrote in an explanation of today's mission.
"Central to its mission, OneWeb also will focus on connecting schools and bridging the digital divide for people everywhere," they added.
OneWeb, which has headquarters in London and Virginia, plans to provide internet service on a test basis sometime this year and be up and running with global, 24-hour service in 2021.