VN — VnExpress

Rassvet - Russia's satellite network challenges Starlink

SpaceOctober 30, 20262 min read

Russia is building Rassvet, a satellite internet network that its government calls a rival to SpaceX's Starlink. The system is meant for both civilian users and the military.

Russia speeds up its own satellite internet

Russia is quickly building Rassvet, a satellite internet network. It promises speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev reported on the project on October 28. Rassvet is nicknamed "Russia's Starlink." It is being developed by Bureau 1440, a private space company based in Moscow.

Key numbers

32 satellites are in orbit now.
Russia plans 292 satellites by 2027 and 900 by 2035.
Target speed: up to 1 gigabit per second for each user terminal, with a delay of about 70 milliseconds.
Funding: 100 billion rubles (about $1.34 billion) from the Ministry of Communications. Bureau 1440 may add 300 billion rubles more.
Orbit height: about 800 km. Starlink satellites fly at 550 km or lower.

Why Russia wants its own network

Russia lost access to some Starlink terminals in Ukraine. In February, SpaceX shut down terminals that were not on an approved list. Russia says about 90% of its units in Ukraine lost internet access. This cut into their ability to attack and coordinate using drones (UAVs). Since then, Russia has pushed harder to build its own satellites.

Why it matters

Rassvet is designed for civilian use, but it also has clear military value. Russian officials say it can help troops coordinate and control drones. The launches are run by the Russian Defense Ministry, not the space agency Roscosmos, which points to a military role. Experts also say its orbit is built to cover all of Russia, including remote areas. Still, the company has not shared enough data for independent checks on how the network is being built.

What to watch

Whether Russia launches 156 satellites by the end of 2026, as planned.
Whether the system starts working in 2027 with close to 300 satellites.
Whether a fourth Rassvet launch happens around March 2027, as Ukrainian experts predict.
Whether Russia can build user terminals at large scale, which experts see as the real challenge.

Glossary

Starlink: SpaceX's internet network of satellites that sends internet access from space to users on the ground.
Bureau 1440: A private Russian space company that is developing the Rassvet satellite network.
Rassvet: Russia's planned satellite internet network, offering high-speed internet for civilian and military use.
Roscosmos: Russia's national space agency, which normally handles its space launches.

US startup wants to sell nighttime sunlight

Reflect Orbital, a California startup, plans to place giant mirrors in low Earth orbit to redirect reflected sunlight to selected ground sites, with services ranging from extending solar farm operations after dark to supporting search and rescue. Its first test satellite, Eärendil-1, with an 18 x 18 m reflector, is slated to launch next year. A study cited in the article, based on modeling rather than real measurements, found that the light would scatter through the atmosphere and reach well beyond the target area, raising concerns from scientists, conservation groups and astronomers.

SpaceArs TechnicaOct 29

SpaceX no longer needs NASA, and that's a problem for America's space agency

SpaceX has grown from an essential NASA and US government contractor into an increasingly indispensable one, and it is pulling back from several government work streams. The company has told NASA it will stop flying Crew Dragon by or before 2030, has stopped selling Falcon 9 commercial launches after 2028, and has declined some new US military and lunar lander launch work. The article says these signs point to at least a partial breakup between SpaceX and the US government.

SpaceThe RegisterOct 29

Boffin's software found a possible dwarf planet - a result so rare he thought it must be a bug

Software developed by Matthew Holman and Kevin Napier of the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian identified 2026 ED138, a distant object orbiting around 46 astronomical units from the Sun, in data from the Rubin Observatory. The Rubin team says it is a strong candidate for certification as a dwarf planet, with an estimated diameter of 600 to 1500 kilometers. The object was hard to spot because it lies near the plane of the Milky Way, where it was hidden among billions of stars.

SpaceVnExpressOct 29

Russia to permanently seal leaking section of ISS

Roscosmos is preparing to permanently close the tunnel connecting the ISS to Russia's Zvezda module after years of unsuccessful efforts to repair a air leak there, which was first detected in 2019. Reports say the move isolates the leak from the rest of the station, and NASA reportedly pressed for the decision. The next cargo mission, Progress MS-36, will reportedly unload through the Poisk module instead of Zvezda.