US: Airbus Defence and Space has been roped in by OneWeb as an industrial partner for the design and manufacturing of its fleet of microsatellites. The space company will design and build more than 900 satellites for the OneWeb constellation for global Internet connectivity. Each microsatellite will weigh less than 150 kilogrammes. The launch into low Earth orbit will begin in 2018.
While the first 10 satellites will be designed and built at Airbus Defence and Space’s facilities in Toulouse, France, full series production will take place at a dedicated plant located in the US.
“Teaming with OneWeb with a requirement to produce several small satellites each day has inspired us to develop innovative designs and processes that will dramatically lower the cost in large volumes for high performance space applications.”
— François Auque, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space
Source: Airbus
