Photo: 123rf
Rocket Lab has made a deal with a European company aiming to give Ukraine more satellite support in the war with Russia.
The New Zealand-US company was selected by Airbus Constellation Satellites to supply solar panels for 100 OneWeb Low Earth Orbit satellites for Eutelsat Group, according to a report from Business Insider.
The panels will be manufactured at Rocket Lab's space solar production facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The French-British satellite operator controls the OneWeb Low Earth Orbit satellites, the only low-earth orbit constellation other than Elon Musk's vastly larger - and much cheaper to access - Starlink network.
Reuters recently reported that sources revealed the US might use Starlink as leverage in the peace talks with Russia. Elon Musk has denied this.
Eutelsat said it was working with European authorities to increase their satellite service in Ukraine.
Starlink has provided communications links for both military and civilian operations, like hospitals.
A New Zealand attache was among the military officials that took part in talks in Paris this week on the subject of Ukraine, but so far has not joined a coalition of about 15 countries pledging support for the embattled nation.
According to the company's website, in 2021, Rocket Lab provided solar array panels for the first fleet of 450 Airbus OneWeb satellites.
- RNZ/Reuters
