At 2213 GMT on 21 August a Soyuz 2-1B rocket lifted-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying 34 satellites for the OneWeb constellation. This launch, the fifth so far this year, takes the in-orbit satellite count to 288, out of a planned total of around 600. The payloads were dropped-off into a circular 450 km orbit, inclined at 84.7 degrees by the Fregat upper-stage 3.5 hours after launch. From this drop-off point the satellites will propel themselves up to their intended operational orbit of 1,200 km, inclined at 87.9 degrees.
The Soyuz rocket lifting-off from Baikonur. Courtesy of Space Center “Yuzhny”/Roskosmos
The 34 satellites orbited by this mission is two less than the other missions this year which have flown from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Eastern Russia. This is difference is down to physics as opposed to production. The launch profile from Vostochny allows for a greater launch mass (and therefore more satellites) compared to that of Baikonur which suffers from inclination and flight-path limitations.
