OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb, has announced the delivery of the first satellites for the OneWeb constellation comprising 900 satellites in low earth orbit.

The satellites were manufactured at the OneWeb Satellites facility on the Airbus Defence and Space Toulouse site, and the first six have been shipped to Kourou for launch. The first launch of the mega constellation is scheduled for 19th February 2019 on a Soyuz rocket.

The Toulouse OneWeb Satellites facility is being used to validate the innovative production methods necessary to manufacture these satellites at an unprecdented rate, de-risk any potential issues, and lay the framework for the larger multi-line OneWeb Satellites factory near the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

The satellites, weighing approximately 150kg each, are designed to operate in near-polar, 1,200km low earth orbit (LEO).

OneWeb Satellites says it will now turn its focus to ramping up production of the full constellation of satellites in the Florida factory.