Eutelsat- One Web to merge

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space

Eutelsat will combine its strong fleet of 36 Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites with OneWeb’s constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.
With its uniquely superior GEO/LEO offerings, complementing high throughput with low latency, the combined entity will help bolster the satellite communication capabilities of the nation, catering to the varied range of needs of the private industry as well as the government

Initiatives for Satellite Internet:

‘Five to 50’ service (OneWeb): OneWeb, a private company, has successfully launched constellations of 218 satellites in LEO.
- The company only has one more launch to complete before it obtains the capacity to enable its ‘Five to 50’ service of offering internet connectivity to all regions north of 50 degrees latitude.
- The Five to 50 service is expected to be switched on by June 2021 with global services powered by 648 satellites available in 2022.
Starlink: It is a venture of SpaceX.
- Starlink currently has 1,385 satellites in orbit and has already started beta testing in North America and initiating pre-orders in countries like India.
- However, Starlink’s satellites fly closer to the earth and therefore, the company requires a larger fleet to provide global connectivity than OneWeb.
Project Kuiper: It is a project of Amazon announced in 2019.
Loon Project: Google launched its ‘Loon’ project in 2013, using high-altitude balloons to create an aerial wireless network.
- After testing the service in rural Kenya, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, abandoned the project in 2021.