Eutelsat orders 229 OneWeb satellites from Airbus

The new order will take the total of new OneWeb satellites manufactured by Airbus to 669.

Eutelsat announced ordering 229 OneWeb satellites from Airbus on the side lines of International Space Summit in Paris to strengthen its constellation.

This is in addition to the 440 satellites already produced from Airbus die to delivery and launch soon.

Eutelsat said the procurement of these satellites, for an estimated investment of €1bn ($1.16bn), is consistent with its financial framework, and does not alter its capital expenditure plan up to FY 2029.

The new order will take the total of new OneWeb satellites manufactured by Airbus to 669.

Airbus said the satellites will be manufactured at Airbus Defence and Space’s Toulouse facility.

Eutelsat’s low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network delivers low-latency connectivity on global basis with over 600 satellites flying in 12 synchronised orbital planes 1,200km above the earth.

“This is an exciting next step for OneWeb and for Eutelsat’s LEO strategy. With the first satellites from the 440 due for delivery and launch soon, our replenishment programme is moving forward,” said Jean-François Fallacher, Eutelsat CEO. 

Airbus said the new batch will encompass all features from the previous satellites and improvements gained throughout the programme development.

“This new contract from Eutelsat highlights the maturity of our product, the excellence of our supply chain and their trust in our industrial know-how for high-rate satellite manufacturing for large-scale LEO constellations,” said Alain Fauré, head of Space Systems in Airbus Defence and Space.

Eutelsat leverages this low-latency LEO network to power dedicated business aviation connectivity services, delivering high-speed inflight broadband across global flight paths, including oceanic and polar routes.