Arianespace's Latest Soyuz Mission Carrying O3b Constellation Satellites is Approved for Liftoff

Authorization has been granted for tomorrow’s Arianespace Soyuz launch from the Spaceport in French Guiana, providing the “green light” for this mission to orbit the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th satellites in SES’ O3b constellation.

Approval for liftoff was given at the conclusion of today’s launch readiness review, which verified the “go” status of Soyuz, its multi-passenger payload, the Spaceport’s infrastructure and the network of downrange tracking stations.

The April 4 mission – designated VS22 in Arianespace’s numbering system – will be performed from the Spaceport’s purpose-built ELS launch facility for Soyuz. Liftoff is scheduled at precisely 1:30:37 p.m. local time in French Guiana (16:30:37 UTC), with the four O3b spacecraft being deployed into a circular orbit during a flight sequence lasting 2 hours and 22 minutes.

Delivering fiber-equivalent connectivity since 2014, the O3b fleet of medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites is part of SES’s bold vision of connecting people and empowering them with opportunities. The first 16 O3b spacecraft were successfully orbited by four Soyuz vehicles operating from the Guiana Space Center in 2013, 2014 and 2018.