French President François Hollande (second to left) discusses with Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders (centre) and OneWeb Ltd. CEO Gregor Wyler (right). Marwan Lahoud, Airbus Group Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer and GIFAS President (left) looks on.

[SatNews] On the first day of the Paris Air Show, Airbus Defence and Space announced that it had been selected by OneWeb Ltd. as its industrial partner for the design and manufacturing of its fleet of microsatellites. 

“By producing hundreds of small satellites we will partner OneWeb to connect the World,” said Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders. “This is a very important agreement and shows the industrial capacity and flexibility of our company to adapt to the changing requirements of the global space market. We can produce hundreds of commercial aircraft each year, and thus we will be able to deliver what’s required for this project.” 

The initial production of 900 satellites, each weighing less than 150 kilograms, is planned for launch into low Earth orbit beginning in 2018 to deliver affordable Internet access globally.  

Airbus Defence and Space Selected to Partner in Production of OneWeb Satellite Constellation

“This partnership is a fantastic new chapter in our space story.  Teaming with OneWeb with a requirement to produce several small satellites each day has inspired us to develop innovative designs and processes that will dramatically lower the cost in large volumes for high performance space applications,” said François Auque, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space. “Without doubt, this program is challenging but we’re ready for it because we have leveraged resources and expertise across the entire Airbus Group. The agility and flexibility of ‘Team Airbus’ enables us to continue to be a major player in the rapidly evolving global space market.”

“Combining the innovation and large volume manufacturing techniques from its A350 aircraft production, with a rich history of building extremely reliable high performance space systems, Team Airbus will help us deliver the OneWeb system on time, providing reliable connectivity for our customers,” said Brian Holz, Head of Space Systems at OneWeb. “We look forward to working with Airbus Defence and Space in order to bring to bear the best resources around the globe for achieving affordable Internet access for everyone.”

Design and production of the first 10 satellites will be carried out at Airbus Defence and Space’s facilities in Toulouse (France). Full series production will take place at a dedicated plant located in the U.S.A.