Mary-Louise Hoffman
OneWeb has partnered with Airbus Group to design and manufacture a new constellation of small satellites meant to facilitate Internet service delivery worldwide.
Airbus said Monday it agreed to help produce as many as 900 microsatellites that OneWeb intends to send into low-Earth orbit starting in 2018.
Francois Auque, head of space systems at Airbus Defence and Space, said the deal has inspired the company to create design and manufacturing methods that he believes could lower high-performance technology costs.
The aerospace firm will build OneWeb’s first 10 Internet satellites at a facility in Toulouse, France, and perform full series production work in a U.S.-based factory.
