OneWeb Hopes to Start 2nd-Phase Satellite Launches in 2025 or 2026

OneWeb plans to decommission its first-phase satellites on a rolling basis as it deploys its second-phase system, with the two operating alongside one another for a time, it told the FCC International Bureau in a filing Monday. It said at no time will more than 6,372 satellites be operational and each first-phase satellite will likely have an operational lifetime of six to eight years. With its first-phase launches having started in 2019, launches of second-phase satellites should start in 2025 or 2026, it said. OneWeb said its first- and second-phase plans have it launching 7,263 satellites in total: 716 phase-one satellites and 18 spares, plus 6,372 phase-two satellites and 157 spares. Of the 428 satellites launched since early 2019, one -- satellite SL0041 -- experienced a software issue at the end of the orbit raising phase that resulted in lost maneuverability, it said. The software issue has been patched on all in-orbit satellites, it said. The company said on a given day it receives 53,000 conjunction data messages indicating some possibility of satellite close call with another object, and averages eight actionable conjunctions. It said most satellites average fewer than four evasive maneuvers in the six months between launch and going into active service. OneWeb said it plans to use optical inter-satellite links for its second phase satellites to route user traffic, and is considering using optical links for its inclined orbit first-phase satellites.