U.K.’s OneWeb Axes Satellite Launches in Standoff With Russia
(Bloomberg) -- U.K.-backed satellite venture OneWeb Ltd suspended all launches from a Russia-controlled launchpad as it refused to comply with demands from Kremlin space agency Roscosmos, it said in a statement Thursday.
Russia had said it wouldn't let OneWeb proceed with a launch scheduled for Saturday at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome unless the U.K. sold its stake in the low-earth orbit satellite startup and guaranteed the system would never be used for military applications. The government along with India's Bharti Global acquired OneWeb in 2020.
Read More: Russia Demands U.K. Sell Stake in Satellite Startup OneWeb
A spokesman for OneWeb didn't immediately answer follow-up questions about what will happen to the 36 satellites on site in Kazakhstan, about back-up plans for future launches, or about the scale of any potential losses if the satellites prove impossible to retrieve.
Roscosmos previously said the satellites “will remain there until the situation is resolved”, according to the Russian Tass news agency.
In a Tweet, U.K. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he supported the decision and that “in light of Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, we are reviewing our participation in all further projects involving Russian collaboration.”
In a separate statement Thursday, U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said Russian companies in aviation and space will be barred from using U.K. insurance services.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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