Airbus, the European aerospace giant, looks set to add another feather in their distinguished cap – that is, Airbus is going to roll up its sleeves and begin construction of the largest satellite constellation in the solar system – or just in case there are aliens living elsewhere in the same solar system, in the world would be a more verifiable claim. The process will see the production of 900 spacecraft for OneWeb, which is a British Channel Islands-registered concern that intends to deliver internet connectivity to those who are not yet connected at this point in time.
Initially, we will see approximately 600 plus satellites launched, while the remaining ones will be stashed away as spares – you know, Murphy’s Law and all that jazz. This means that the multi-billion-dollar OneWeb constellation will be a giant among all of the other commercial networks in the sky, and by a rather long margin, too – we are talking about a factor of 10, now how about that for being massive?
Airbus’ workflow for OneWeb will need to be high volume – and at the same time, not break the bank, which would present a very real headache and challenge for just about any company. Each satellite is tipped to weigh approximately 150kg, and OneWeb hopes that they can be constructed for less than $500,000 apiece.