This week has seen the reported launch of 16 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit by Russian aerospace company Bureau 1440. News reports are calling this the country’s first operational step towards building a domestic satellite network.
Called Rassvet, the LEO network is likely to be positioned as a home-grown alternative to systems such as Starlink. It is designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet across Russia, including remote regions, while, importantly for the country, reducing reliance on foreign satellite infrastructure.
The satellites were launched on 23 March and successfully reached their reference orbit, where they separated from the carrier rocket and were placed under the control of the company’s mission operations centre.
As content delivery news website CSI Magazine points out, the deployment moves the programme beyond its experimental phase and into early-stage network development, following roughly 1,000 days between test missions and this first operational batch.
The initial deployment timeline was meant to begin in 2025 but only a small number of test satellites had been placed in orbit before this week’s announcement. Not too surprisingly, given the present conflict with Ukraine, there have been delays linked to manufacturing constraints.
This week’s launch kicks off a roadmap that aims for a constellation exceeding 900 satellites by 2035, with around 250 expected to enter commercial service by 2027. Future capabilities are set to include laser inter-satellite links and integration with 5G networks.
CSI Magazine says that the successful deployment of this first operational cluster indicates progress in production and programme execution but suggests that significant scaling will be required to meet long-term targets.
