Sixteen satellites in Russia’s “Starlink rival” fail to reach working altitude on schedule
None of the 16 low-Earth orbit communications satellites that Russia launched on July 19 as part of its Rassvet-3 series have reached their planned orbital altitude, according to a report by Business Insider citing data from the U.S. Space Force. Under the plan by Russian company Bureau 1440, responsible for developing the Rassvet constellation as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink, the…
Sixteen satellites as part of Russia's Rassvet-3 series did not reach their intended 800-kilometer altitude following a July 19 launch, according to Business Insider's report citing U.S. Space Force data. The satellites were meant to be part of an alternative to SpaceX's Starlink, developed by Russian company Bureau 1440. As of the end of August, the satellites were found at altitudes ranging between 300 and 400 kilometers, where atmospheric drag significantly reduces a satellite's service life.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted that the failure of all 16 satellites to reach their target altitude indicates Russia may have been unprepared to accelerate constellation deployment and will likely face more delays. Bureau 1440 has not provided clear communication on the matter but suggests that the satellites could be in an intermediate orbit for testing purposes.
If this is the case, raising the orbit could take weeks or months due to the low thrust of the electrostatic engines. The first batch of Bureau 1440 satellites launched in March also failed to reach the target altitude, although 12 of the 16 did reach an orbit of around 550 kilometers. As of now, there are many possible explanations for the situation, but it is too early to conclude any failure or mass breakdowns.
Written by urgent.news from The Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
