OneWeb Satellite (Gen 1)

The first-generation OneWeb satellite is a standardized, mass-producible small satellite bus designed and manufactured by Airbus OneWeb Satellites (AOS), the joint venture between Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb. Each spacecraft weighs approximately 150 kg and was built for high-rate, low-cost assembly-line production at AOS’s dedicated factory in Merritt Island, Florida, and a second line in Toulouse, France, which together reached a production rate of two satellites per day by January 2020.

The satellite carries a Ku-band payload for user terminal links and a Ka-band payload for gateway links, enabling global broadband connectivity, including polar and maritime coverage, from a near-polar low Earth orbit at approximately 1,200 km altitude and 86.4 degrees inclination. Satellites are deployed across 12 orbital planes as part of OneWeb’s first-generation constellation of over 600 operational satellites plus in-orbit spares. Each spacecraft is equipped with deorbit propulsion and a magnetic grappling fixture to support end-of-life disposal and compatibility with future active debris removal missions.

As the workhorse of the completed OneWeb constellation, this satellite bus demonstrated that small, standardized LEO broadband satellites could be manufactured at unprecedented volume and speed, establishing Airbus OneWeb Satellites as one of the first companies to industrialize mega-constellation satellite production.