OneWeb, a London-based satellite company that seeks global Internet connectivity and a key competitor to Elon Musk’s StarLink constellation, was due to launch a batch of 36 Internet satellites on Friday as part of its plan for a constellation of 648 satellites. But those plans are now in jeopardy, as Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, appears poised to block efforts.
A Russian-built Soyuz rocket operated by France’s Arianespace SA was to deliver satellites into low Earth orbit, launching from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. OneWeb and Russia have signed a multi-year deal to launch satellites, with the company launching its satellites exclusively on Russia’s Soyuz rocket.
But Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos and a former deputy prime minister with a flair for inflammatory rhetoric, refuses to continue with what should be a routine launch in response to UK sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Rogozin has tweeted bright statements in the past in response to Western sanctions – namely in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by Russia. “After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest that the United States bring its astronauts to the International Space Station with the help of a trampoline,” Rogozin said at the time. on Twitter after US sanctions against the Russian space sector.
Despite Rogozin’s vivid tweets and interviews, the United States and Russia have historically collaborated in space. Although tensions on Earth have led to threats of premature exit, Rogozin has promised Russia to remain a NASA partner in the International Space Station at least until the station is eventually withdrawn.
OneWeb did not respond immediately to CNN’s request for comment.