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French satellite operator Eutelsat failed to calculate last year’s leap year, causing an embarrassing 48-hour service outage.
OneWeb satellite constellation, Eutelsat, has resumed internet services after an outage that began on December 31, 2024. confirmed on Thursday. “The root cause was determined to be a software issue in the ground segment,” the company wrote in a brief statement. “The constellation is nominally operational again.”
Joanna Darlington, Eutelsat’s senior director of communications and investor relations, told Via Satellite that the leap year of 2024 “appears to be the most likely cause” of the software glitch. The omission of an extra day this year likely led to a software glitch in the internet constellation, resulting in a temporary outage.
Eutelsat operates a fleet of more than 630 satellites in low Earth orbit. The company has been building the OneWeb constellation since 2020, sending batches of satellites designed to deliver high-speed internet around the world.
It has not been an easy road for Eutelsat. The company initially relied on Russia’s Soyuz rocket to launch its satellites, but relations with Roscosmos quickly soured after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In response to Western sanctions against Russia, Roscosmos refused to launch OneWeb satellites. agreed a list of requirements. OneWeb refused and asked for it Russia will maintain 36 satellites In a warehouse in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The company was then forced to rely on its internet rival SpaceX as well as the Indian Space Research Organization to launch its satellites.
Although It launches its last batch of 36 satellites into orbit In March 2023, Eutelsat was unable to expand its broadband coverage worldwide due to delays. providing approval for ground infrastructure In key countries such as India, Thailand and Turkey. As a result, OneWeb’s internet services are currently only available in the Americas and parts of Europe and Asia. The company hopes to resolve its issues this year by launching full services by spring SpaceNews.
Compared to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, OneWeb is aimed at internet service providers (ISPs) and other business customers. While Starlink provides direct service to end users, OneWeb is more of an infrastructure provider than a direct consumer service.
Recently, Eutelsat ordered 100 broadband satellites from Airbus will begin the process of renewing their constellation in a few years, with the satellites ending their life between 2027 and 2028. The company wants to make sure that doesn’t happen after the last glitch is fixed. Again, no more excuses in 2028.
