After reaffirming his commitment to space tourism following Virgin Galactic's fatal crash in October, Richard Branson is now pouring money into OneWeb, a satellite-internet company owned by former Google Satellite executive Greg Wyler.
OneWeb, previously called WorldVu, wants to bring internet access to those who do not possess it, including third world countries, rural areas in developed countries like the US, and airlines. The service will be powered by a constellation of 648 satellites, reported The Verge.
The company, which is currently based in Britain, is developing small user terminals that will provide internet access at a rate of 50 megabits per second.
The construction of the initial constellation is expected to cost about two billion dollars.
OneWeb will launch the 250-pound satellites using Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne, a rocket created to launch cargo into orbit.
Branson said that LauncherOne is more efficient than the big rockets of the past for delivering satellites into space and added that it can take off every three or four hours.
If the initial launch is successful, the company could launch up to 2,400 satellites, Branson said.
On a hopeful note, the Virgin Galactic head wrote that by the time the company developed its second constellation, the company would have launched more satellites than there currently are in the sky.
The launch is expected to happen in 2017.
