Soyuz rocket launched 34 OneWeb satellites into suborbital flight trajectory
The Fregat upper stage with 34 communication satellites from the British company OneWeb separated from the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket after launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The satellites have been placed on a suborbital flight trajectory, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the broadcast of Roscosmos.
The rocket was launched at 21.07 Moscow time, the upper stage with satellites on a suborbital trajectory separated from the third stage of the rocket at 21.16 Moscow time.
In the future, the upper stage will deliver the vehicles to a circular orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers. The separation of satellites will be carried out in nine stages at different points of the orbit. According to calculations, the total duration of the mission will be 3 hours and 45 minutes.
This launch was the fifteenth launch of Russian space rockets in 2021; a total of 29 launches are planned for the current year.
Earlier, the Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The launch was successful, said the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense.
