French satellite tv for pc operator Eutelsat didn’t account for final 12 months’s intercalary year, resulting in an embarrassing service outage that lasted for 48 hours.
OneWeb’s satellite tv for pc constellation restored web providers after an outage that started on December 31, 2024, Eutelsat confirmed on Thursday. “The foundation trigger was recognized as a software program problem inside the floor phase,” the corporate wrote in a quick assertion. “The constellation is working nominally as soon as once more.”
Joanna Darlington, Eutelsat chief communications and investor relations officer, instructed Through Satellite tv for pc that the 2024 intercalary year “appears to be the almost definitely trigger” for the software program glitch. Failing to account for an extra day this 12 months seemingly disrupted the web constellation’s software program, ensuing within the short-term disruption.
Eutelsat operates a fleet of greater than 630 satellites in low Earth orbit. The corporate has been constructing its OneWeb constellation since 2020, sending batches of satellites designed to beam high-speed web throughout the globe.
It hasn’t been a straightforward highway for Eutelsat. The corporate initially relied on Russia’s Soyuz rocket to launch its satellites, however its relationship with Roscosmos shortly deteriorated following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In retaliation in opposition to the Western sanctions imposed in opposition to Russia, Roscosmos refused to launch the OneWeb satellites except the corporate agreed to a list of demands. OneWeb declined, prompting Russia to maintain 36 of its satellites at a storage facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The corporate was then compelled to depend on its web constellation rival SpaceX, in addition to the Indian Area Analysis Group, to launch its satellites.
Regardless of launching its last batch of 36 satellites in March 2023, Eutelsat couldn’t roll out worldwide broadband protection resulting from delays in securing approval for ground-based infrastructure in key international locations like India, Thailand, and Turkey. In consequence, OneWeb’s web providers are presently solely accessible within the Americas, and a few components of Europe and Asia. The corporate is hoping to resolve its points this 12 months, launching its full providers by spring, in keeping with SpaceNews.
In comparison with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, OneWeb is geared in direction of web service suppliers (ISPs) and different enterprise shoppers. Whereas Starlink providers end-users immediately, OneWeb is extra of an infrastructure supplier fairly than a direct client service.
Eutelsat not too long ago ordered 100 broadband satellites from Airbus to start the method of updating its constellation in just a few years, with the lifespan of its satellites ending someday between 2027 to 2028. After overcoming its latest glitch, the corporate can be eager to make sure that it doesn’t occur once more, so no extra excuses in 2028.
