You mentioned 2600 as the top range for the number of satellites needed for a GPS system. Let's use this number, shall we? Second, OneWeb already has bought ri

You mentioned 2600 as the top range for the number of satellites needed for a GPS system. Let's use this number, shall we? Second, OneWeb already has bought rights for 3 launches with Ariane 6 [1]; ArianeGroup is a joint venture of Airbus and some other company. Airbus was reported to be quite enthusiastic about the UK bid, so Soyuz is unlikely to be in the picture for long if UK wins the auction. An Ariane 6 launch can bring between 10 and 22 tons to LEO. Let's take the middle number of 15 t, that would be 100 of their current satellites in one shot. That's in line with the 60 satellites per launch for Starlink (which are heavier at about 250kg). They could maintain a fleet of 2600 satellites in orbit for less than 3 launches per year. Did I mention that Airbus is the biggest OneWeb creditor? They have all the reasons to see OneWeb succeed, so I don't think they'll limit OneWeb's access to Arianne 6 launches. If anything, one could be worried about a conflict of interests, that they'll get more launches than one would strictly need. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_6#Launch_contracts_and_scheduled_flights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_6#Launch_contracts_and_...