The launch of Russia’s low-Earth orbit satellite communications constellation “Rassvet,” developed by the company Bureau 1440, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. Russian media reported this, citing a statement by Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev.
According to him, 16 satellites have already been manufactured and are ready for launch into orbit, after which the system will move to a trial operation phase. The project is being positioned as a Russian analogue to Starlink aimed at providing broadband internet access.
At the same time, the Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi notes that the first launch of 16 satellites had originally been planned for 2025 but was postponed to 2026. According to Kommersant, the delay may have been due to the lack of ready spacecraft.
The broader deployment roadmap also remains in question. It had envisioned 156 satellites in 2026, 292 in 2027, and 318 in 2028. Commercial operation is not expected before 2027, when around 250 satellites are projected to be in orbit.
Militarnyi points out that Russia currently has no full-fledged alternative to Starlink. By comparison, Elon Musk’s system already has more than 9,000 satellites in orbit, while Rassvet’s maximum planned constellation size is about 900 spacecraft.
Thus, despite statements about the imminent launch of a Russian Starlink analogue, the creation of a fully operational system appears unlikely in the near term.