The Spoilage of War

OneWeb, the ill-fated London-based satellite communications company, has taken a $230-million hit in the wake of Russia’s cancellation of its planned orbital launches and seizure of 36 of its satellites.

The pilfered satellites were to have departed the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz-2.1b rocket in March of 2022. However, following the dissolution of international niceties in the wake of Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin issued an ultimatum to OneWeb, denying the company permission to launch until it guaranteed its satellites would not be put to military use. Russian officials further demanded the British Government sell its stake in OneWeb.

OneWeb refused, canceling its launches and evacuating its staff from Baikonur.

Making good its threat, the Russian state seized the entirety of OneWeb’s 36 satellites and—as if to punctuate the extent and earnestness of its ire—relegated OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson to its own sanctions list.

In July, French satellite company Eutelsat announced a takeover of OneWeb. The British Government will retain a stake in the business—which will be listed in Paris. The French state, too, will own part of the company, making it a truly Anglo-Franco enterprise—after the fashion of the Hundred Years War.

The British Government maintains it will retain a commanding share in OneWeb, giving Britannia a strong voice in the emergent concern’s culture and future business dealings.

Notwithstanding Russian sanctions against OneWeb’s leadership, Eutelsat, which operates its own constellation of TV satellites, insists it will go on serving Russian customers, who account for around 3.6% of the company’s revenues.

The cancellation of OneWeb’s Russian launches has forced the beleaguered company to suspend plans for its own satellite constellation. OneWeb had intended to commence commercial broadcast services at the end of 2022, but will not resume its launch program until December—at which time the outfit’s new management will begrudgingly advance profit before pride by entrusting orbital delivery of its satellites to SpaceX—proprietor of the Starlink satellite network which will compete directly with OneWeb in the growing, global broadband industry.

FMI: www.oneweb.net