Another satellite lost in Russia's "Rassvet" satellite internet project

A satellite from Russia's "Rassvet" satellite internet system, built by the company "Bureau 1440", lost altitude and burned up in Earth's atmosphere on 30 October. The satellite, "Rassvet-3" number 17, was reported lost by the Ukrainian military technology outlet "Defense Express", citing space object tracking data. Russian authorities present "Rassvet" as a domestic alternative to "Starlink", the system run by Elon Musk's US company "SpaceX", so each loss is watched as an indicator of the project's progress.

What happened to the satellite

The satellite was launched on 19 July on a "Soyuz-2.1b" rocket together with 15 other satellites. It is believed that its engine was never started after it reached orbit, so the craft could not make the necessary orbital corrections. Atmospheric drag gradually lowered it until it burned up in the dense layers of the atmosphere after three months and 11 days.

It is not the first such case. On 6 June another "Rassvet-3" satellite, number 4, which was put into orbit in March, met a similar fate. Some other satellites initially failed to reach the required altitude, and a few began drifting toward Earth. Satellite number 23 had dropped to about 220 kilometres, but on 20 October specialists began raising its orbit, and it later reached about 300 kilometres.

Of the 30 "Rassvet-3" satellites remaining in orbit, 26 have reached roughly 500 kilometres. The system is being deployed relatively slowly.

Project plans

About 430 billion roubles are earmarked for the project. The original plan was a 350-satellite network providing continuous internet coverage, later expanded to 900 satellites. Commercial operation is planned to begin in 2027. The system is also meant to support military communications and drone control; Ukrainian military analysts have previously reported possible use of "Rassvet" terminals in Russian drones.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in June that "Rassvet" is in no way inferior to "Starlink" and might surpass it in some respects. "Starlink" already operates thousands of satellites, while the Russian network is so far much smaller. Experts note that losing individual satellites does not mean the whole project has failed, and that in early "Starlink" tests some satellites also missed their intended orbits. "Rassvet" is currently in the deployment and testing stage.