OneWeb, a London-based satellite startup battling for global internet connectivity and a key competitor to Elon Musk’s StarLink satellite internet 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, looks set to block the effort.
A Russian-made Soyuz rocket operated by French company Arianespace SA was supposed to deliver the satellites to low Earth orbit, from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. OneWeb and Russia have signed a multi-year satellite launch agreement, 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 knack for incendiary rhetoric, refuses to go ahead with what should be a routine launch in response to British sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Rogozin has tweeted flamboyant statements in the past in response to Western sanctions, including in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. “After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest that the United States bring its astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline,” Rogozin said at the time. on Twitter following US sanctions against the Russian space sector.
OneWeb did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.