Russia's "Rassvet": a genuine Starlink competitor or a propaganda promise?

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently confirmed that Russia has a satellite system that is on par with Elon Musk's Starlink. He was likely referring to the low-orbit satellite constellation "Rassvet", developed by the company "Bureau 1440". The system's full deployment is promised by 2027, but currently only 15 operational satellites are in orbit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that Russia already has a satellite system that "in no way falls short of" Elon Musk's Starlink. The statement comes against the backdrop of complaints from Russia's military that Ukrainian forces use Starlink terminals to control heavy drones. Until February 2025, Russian forces themselves used Starlink antennas obtained through smuggling, but Starlink terminated these connections at the request of the Ukrainian government.

What are low-orbit satellite systems?

There are two main ways to provide satellite connectivity. In the second half of the 20th century, geostationary satellites dominated, positioned at approximately 36,000 kilometres altitude and "hanging" stationary above Earth. They are convenient for television, but signal latency is considerable.

Low-orbit systems, such as Starlink and "Rassvet", operate at altitudes of 400-800 kilometres. Latency is almost negligible, and satellites can be lighter and cheaper. The downside is that to ensure continuous coverage, a large number of satellites are needed, the lower they fly, the more are required.

Russia's path to Starlink: from OneWeb to "Rassvet"

Russia actually had the opportunity to participate in a similar international project. In 2015, Roscosmos signed a contract with OneWeb, a company founded by Europeans, to launch satellites into orbit. Between 2019 and 2022, Russian launch vehicles placed 648 OneWeb satellites in orbit. In 2017, a joint venture called "Uanveb" was created with Russia's "Gonets" company to provide service to Russian consumers.

However, Russia's radio frequency commission (GKRTS) refused to allocate the necessary frequencies, citing the priority of another Russian system, "Express-RV". In 2018, the FSB opposed the project, claiming it threatened national security. In March 2022, Roscosmos halted OneWeb satellite launches, and the State Duma banned the import of foreign satellite internet equipment to Russia.

"Bureau 1440" and "Rassvet"

The private sector alternative is being developed by "Bureau 1440", which grew out of the Megafon ecosystem. In 2020, mobile operator Megafon founded "Megafon 1440", investing 6 billion roubles in it. Later, VTB Bank invested 2 billion roubles for a 15% stake. The company was renamed "Bureau 1440", and its founders are currently five individuals who have legally concealed their identities, likely due to sanctions risk.

The first three test satellites were launched into orbit in June 2023. First contact was made on 1 July 2023: speed 10 Mbit/s and latency 41 milliseconds. In May 2024, three enhanced satellites were added, adapted to the 5G NTN protocol and testing laser-based inter-satellite links. On 23 March 2026, a Soyuz-2.1b launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome placed 16 satellites in orbit from the first target batch. In June, one of them deviated from its planned orbit and burned up in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic; the remaining 15 are operating normally.

Numbers and ambitions

In 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Grigorenko announced that by 2027 the constellation should have 292 operational satellites. By 2030, a total of 383 units are planned. The total project budget until 2030 is 431.9 billion roubles, of which 329 billion comes from "Bureau 1440" and the remainder from the state budget.

"Rassvet" plans to fly higher than Starlink, at 600-800 km versus Starlink's 550 km. This slightly weakens the signal, but allows covering the entire sky with significantly fewer satellites, not thousands like Musk's, but just a few hundred units. Ground terminals are promised to be under 60 centimetres in size and under 15 kilograms in weight, and serial production is scheduled for 2027.

Currently, the company is still operating at a loss; in 2024 it had a net loss of 3.4 billion roubles. Whether "Rassvet" can truly become equivalent to Starlink will only become clear when the system actually becomes operational.