OneWeb, a new space agency in the United Kingdom, now wants to go toe-to-toe with Elon Musk's Starlink program. The new company says that the plan of Starlink is not a responsible way for the next generations. 

SpaceX Starlink's Rival Claims Launching Thousands of Satellites is No Good: OneWeb Goes Head-to-Head
(Photo : Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the SAOCOM 1A and ITASAT 1 satellites, as seen on October 7, 2018 near Santa Barbara, California. After launching the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully returned to land on solid ground near the launch site rather than at sea. The satellites will become part of a six-satellite constellation that will work in tandem with an Italian constellation known as COSMO-SkyMed.

According to Business Insider's latest report, the British-owned satellite broadband operator previously suffered from bankruptcy in November and was almost shut down because of financial issues. However, it was able to bounce back, allowing it to compete against one of the biggest private space agencies. 

The new space agency also wants to widen its internet service by launching hundreds of satellites in orbit across the world.

OneWeb's chief of regulation, engagement, and government, Chris McLaughlin, said that launching thousands of internet satellites is not a good way to help the next generations of people. 

OneWeb's plan

OneWeb's plan is similar to SpaceX. However, the company confirmed that it only wants to send around 648 satellites at 1,200 kilometers in orbit to provide the places that badly need internet service. 

SpaceX Starlink's Rival Claims Launching Thousands of Satellites is No Good: OneWeb Goes Head-to-Head
(Photo : Photo by Tim Peake / ESA/NASA via Getty Images)
This handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA), shows a view of The Palms, Dubai as the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft psses below, in an image taken by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station on April 10, 2016. ESA astronaut Tim Peake is performing more than 30 scientific experiments and taking part in numerous others from ESA's international partners during his six-month mission.

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On the other hand, SpaceX now has a total of more than 1,300 Starlink satellites at 550 kilometers in orbit. Elon Musk's space agency wants to improve this and launch 42,000 by mid-2027. 

However, there are some critics and analysts that are saying that Elon Musk's Starlink satellites could lead to space pollution since there are already thousands of them in space. 

Unlike SpaceX, OneWeb seems to not focus on the number of internet satellites. 


"We're beginning to think less is more," said Chris McLaughlin. "[Musk and Bezos] both want to put them up in the same place at 550 km and have nobody else in their way," he added.  

OneWeb already released 36 satellites

As of the moment, OneWeb was able to send 36 broadband internet satellites in orbit. BBC News confirmed on Mar. 25 that the U.K. space agency was able to raise more than $400 million budget from various tech firms, such as Hughes Network Systems and Softbank.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon

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