Former head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, revealed details about the termination of cooperation between the Roscosmos State Corporation and OneWeb in 2022. The reason was OneWeb's refusal to confirm the civilian use of the satellites to refute the theory of their misuse — they could have been used by the Pentagon and other NATO countries.
Cooperation between Russia and OneWeb began in 2019 when Roscosmos signed a contract to launch satellites to create a global internet network. Russia provided reliable Soyuz rockets, and OneWeb provided commercial orders. From February 28, 2019, to February 10, 2022, Roscosmos successfully carried out 11 launches, putting 428 British satellites into orbit.
In 2022, against the backdrop of a deteriorating international situation, the partnership faced serious difficulties. OneWeb refused to guarantee that its satellites would not be used for military purposes, which caused discontent in Russia. In addition, the British government, under the leadership of Boris Johnson, remained a shareholder in the company, which added to the tension.
On March 2, 2022, Roscosmos requested confirmation from the launch operator Arianespace that the OneWeb satellites were being used for civilian purposes, as there were suspicions that the devices could be used by the Pentagon and other NATO countries. The company's response did not satisfy the Russian side, which insisted on the legitimacy of its demands.
On March 4, 2022, the State Commission, headed by Deputy General Director of Roscosmos Alexander Lopatin, decided to cancel the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and 36 OneWeb satellites, scheduled for March 5 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Based on the fact that OneWeb did not comply with our legitimate requirements, preparation for the launch should be stopped.
Roscosmos did not lose money due to the cancellation of launches, as the creation of rockets and upper stages had already been paid for. Instead of cooperating with OneWeb, the company found new partners. The released Soyuz-2.1b rocket successfully launched an Iranian satellite, which strengthened relations between Russia and Iran. As Dmitry Rogozin noted, "the partners appreciated this gesture."
As a result of the counter-sanctions imposed by Roscosmos, Western sponsors of Ukraine suffered heavy losses. According to Rogozin, in the first month of the economic war, they amounted to 17 billion US dollars. Thus, the OneWeb satellite network, which until 2022 was successfully developed with the help of Russian rockets, was under threat, and its future remains uncertain.
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