The launch is the British satellite firm's 17th low-Earth orbit mission. One other mission is now pending to complete OneWeb's first-generation LEO satellite constellation. See Also: How to Invest in Stocks Directly in 2023 Why It’s Important: This launch is OneWeb's 17th to date, and the penultimate mission to complete its first-generation (Gen 1) LEO satellite constellation and enable global coverage in 2023. Thursday’s mission takes the number of satellites in this network to 582, the company said in a mission statement. With just one more launch, OneWeb will finish the constellation’s construction, added the statement. "Today's launch is an exciting milestone as we are now just one mission away from completing our Gen 1 constellation, which will activate global service in 2023,” CEO Neil Masterson said. Starlink, the satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX similar to OneWeb, has over 4,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell. In December, SpaceX announced that Starlink has crossed the one million active subscribers milestone.