Russia He has been working since 2020 on his own alternative to starlink to offer broadband connections from space and reduce its dependence on foreign systems. The project is called Rassvetwhat does it mean ‘sunrise’ in Russian, and is being developed by the aerospace company Bureau 1440. Its deployment has accelerated during 2026, but The latest satellites launched are having difficulty reaching the planned orbit.
Bureau 1440 began testing this technology long before the commercial deployment currently underway. The first three experimental satellites Rassvet 1 were launched in June 2023, followed by three more Rs.assvet 2 in May 2024. These missions served to test communications, ground terminals and links between satellites.
The deployment of the final constellation began on March 23 with 16 new satellitesfollowed by a second round of 16 others released on July 19. In total, Bureau 1440 has sent to space 38 devices related to the project, although only the 32 launched during 2026 belong to this first phase of deployment of the commercial network.
The March satellites achieved much better results than the most recent ones. According to the Ukrainian military media Militarnyitwelve of the 16 had reached the end of July an operational configuration around 550 kilometers, another three continued to raise their orbit and one had re-entered the atmosphere in June after failing to perform the necessary maneuvers to remain in space.
This group already allows you to have communication windows over Ukraine for more than an hour at least twice a day, when satellites pass over the area.
From 800 km altitude to staying below 360
The situation of the second batch launched in July is much more problematic. The French media Numerama points out that none had managed to exceed 360 kilometers at the end of August. Some continued to perform maneuvers to gain height, while others had begun to descend and two had fallen below 300 kilometers following trajectories compatible with a future re-entry into the atmosphere.
Staying at those altitudes considerably reduces a satellite’s potential lifespan. Although space begins much lower, particles of the Earth’s atmosphere still exist several hundred kilometers up. Friction causes the device to lose speed and altitudeso you need to use your propulsion system to compensate for it. The more fuel it spends staying in orbit, the shorter its operational life will be..
According to Bureau 1440, Rassvet satellites are designed to operate at 800 kilometers altitudeoffer connections of up to 1 Gbit/s and maintain a latency lower than 70 milliseconds. Each one functions as a base station 5G in space and has laser links to communicate directly with other devices in the constellation. Satellites launched in March also incorporate plasma propulsion and a new generation of laser terminals.
Russia needs Rassvet in Ukraine, but it only has intermittent coverage
Military interest in Rassvet increased after the changes introduced by Starlink last February. Russia never officially had the service of SpaceX within its territory, but its forces had managed to use Ukraine terminals acquired and activated through third parties. Since February 4, Starlink requires that any terminal used on Ukrainian territory be listed on a white list controlled by the kyiv authorities. Unauthorized equipment was disabledpreventing Russia’s use of the system.
Rassvet’s difficulties delay precisely a capability that Russia sees as increasingly important for warfighting. The Ukrainian media United24 Media points out that Moscow intends to have several hundred satellites and start commercial service in 2027despite the fact that the current constellation is still very far from providing continuous coverage.
An own network would allow maintaining communications with troops and control drones beyond the range of ground links without depending on foreign operators. The satellites already in operation can offer intermittent connections during certain overflights of Ukraine, but they do not yet form a complete alternative to Starlink.
The problems of the second round reduce the speed at which Russia can approach permanent coverageprecisely when satellite communications have become an increasingly relevant piece for military operations, especially with drones.