Russia’s Rassvet project, aimed at creating a domestic satellite‑internet system to compete with Starlink, has encountered technical and operational problems. In March, the Russian company Bureau 1440 deployed the first batch of 16 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites, but by June at least one satellite had failed. Compared with Starlink’s more than 10,000 satellites, Rassvet remains in its early stages.
On July 1, the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have struck a space‑communications center near Moscow, destroying its main antennas and building. The claim has not yet been independently verified.
Russia plans a ten‑year, $58 billion program to expand Rassvet to about 900 satellites by 2035. According to a U.S. Space Force assessment, at least 100 of those satellites may be dedicated to drone and unmanned‑system support.