Arianespace has launched its first mission of the year from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou. A Soyuz ST-B rocket is tasked with placing 34 OneWeb satellites in a 475-kilometer orbit around the Earth, following liftoff at 1:09 p.m. EST (18:09 UTC) on February 10, 2022.
Following successful deployment in their parking orbit by the Soyuz, the satellites will use their onboard Xenon Hall Effect thrusters to slowly raise themselves in their respective operational orbit.
This launch marks the 100th satellite launched on Soyuz from French Guiana. The remaining OneWeb launches scheduled for this year are planned to fly from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.