You know what? Do you remember that glasses-wearing kid you used to bully back in fifth grade because you didn’t understand multiplication, they did, and you decided the only choice you had was to make them feel small? Well, that kid remembered that every time they looked up into the stars and thought, one day I’m going to change the world for the better.
Avoiding the enticing tangent of discussing the dangers of bullying, history has gifted us with these nerdier individuals who, upon further schooling and development of their ideas, went on to invent technologies that redefined human existence each time one of these people shared an idea. A few months ago, we spoke about Elon Musk, the wacky-yet-brilliant entrepreneur who founded SpaceX with the goal of educing the cost of traveling to space while simultaneously putting in the groundwork to hopefully establish a new colony of Earthlings on the planet, Mars.
SpaceX, namely Elon Musk, recognized something that many of us are still very much in denial about. We believe that the Earth is still a sufficient planet for our future generations. Elon Musk and the creative hive mind responsible for SpaceX does not share this same ideology. Musk recognized, early-on, that space is an untapped resource in terms of development and placement of technology, as well as a new setting for our existence.
Well, Musk isn’t the only one with their eyes fixated on the future possibilities that Space has to offer. After four years and billions in funding requests, OneWeb launched and deployed the first of six satellites in a planned constellation of hundreds several weeks ago. For those unfamiliar with OneWeb, it is one of few companies, including SpaceX, determined to use thousands of satellites to create a global-internet system for every person on the planet. Per TechCrunch’s profile on the company, OneWeb plans on launching nearly one-thousand satellites to about a 1,100-kilometer low Earth orbit, where these devices “will be able to provide broadband to practically anywhere on Earth.”
In their pursuit of covering every nook and cranny of the planet with internet, OneWeb has raised nearly $1.5 billion in funding to start mass production of their satellites. Prior to last month’s launch, investors were concerned with the future of the Company and its ability to meet its self-set deadlines. Following the launch, we now know that OneWeb means business.
“With the recent successful launch of our first six satellites, near-completion of our innovative satellite manufacturing facility with our partner Airbus, progress towards fully securing our ITU priority spectrum position, and the singing of our first customer contracts, OneWeb is moving from the planning and development stage to deployment of our full constellation…”
–Adrian Steckel, Chief Executive Officer, OneWeb
We have quite a bit to unpack here, so hold on to your seats, folks. First of all, its mind-blowing that a company is making significant progress in launching not just one, but an entire constellational network of internet-providing satellites into Space. It’s truly incredible that OneWeb wants to help the world connect with one another, and they’re taking concrete steps to making this a very real possibility.
Next, and arguably the most important thing to consider about this project. I’m not sure if any of you are aware of the current going-rate for satellites, but they’re not just something you can buy in bulk at Costco. According to TechCrunch, OneWeb satellites currently run at about a million dollars a pop. While the company has raised its total funding to $3.4 billion, it’s going to be a bit of time before OneWeb has a fully-functional constellation of internet.
Per the details from OneWeb’s most recent corporate update, the Company intends to launch thirty satellites per month over the course of the next year, in order to test connections. Once these tests have been completed, they will begin to offer limited commercial services, hopefully, in the year 2021.
