Arianespace targets 22 launches in 2020
January 8, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Rocket company Arianespace says it is looking to handle 22 launches this year with almost half being contracted work for the mega-constellation OneWeb.
Ten missions will be for OneWeb using Ariane’s Soyuz rocket and these will be split three ways, with some launches from its core French Guiana spaceport and the balance divided between Baikonur in Kazakhstan and the new Russian facility in Vostochny.
OneWeb has booked 21 Soyuz launches overall with Arianespace. The first was last February and carried just 6 test satellites. The next batch will carry 34 satellites and be launched in early February.
Arianespace’s first launch this year of its larger Ariane 5 rocket will carry a pair of satellites. Its passengers are Eutelsat with its Konnect broadband satellite and a craft for India’s Space Research Organisation (GSAT-30).
Arianespace carried out 9 missions in 2019.