SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Will Blast 40 OneWeb Sats Into Space Tonight And You Can Watch Live

SpaceX is set to launch 40 OneWeb (LEO) satellites with a targeted liftoff on January 9, 2023. OneWeb Launch 16 mission was originally scheduled to launch on January 8, but SpaceX pushed it back a day in order to finish prelaunch processing.

The upcoming launch of 40 OneWeb satellites will mark a milestone in OneWeb's history, as it will be the second time launching from Florida, where its satellites are also produced by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus. SpaceX will launch the satellites onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, at 11:50pm ET, and you can watch the launch live via SpaceX's YouTube below.


The launch enables the company to continue expanding services around the globe as it grows its fleet. The company's connectivity solutions are already active in Alaska, Canada, the U.K., Greenland, and the wider Arctic area.

OneWeb's mission is to remove the barriers to connectivity that are holding economies and communities back. It says that there is a digital divide that persists, with three billion people around the world denied access to reliable terrestrial infrastructure. Rural or hard-to-reach communities cannot access the broadband connectivity (defined as a minimum of 25Mbps) that others rely on for interactive simultaneous communications at school, for health, or at home.

"OneWeb has a strong social purpose to improve the world's access to information. It has great talent, a compelling commercial opportunity, and is supported by committed and knowledgeable owners and investors," remarked OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson.

Once the SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off, the first stage and second stage will separate around two minutes into the flight. At around seven minutes the first stage will make its landing on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It will take another hour and thirty-five minutes before all 40 satellites will be deployed.

As with any launch, delays could still occur. Stay up to date with any launch changes on the SpaceX website.