Russian company Bureau 1440 has launched a second batch of communications satellites into orbit for Rassvet, Russia’s satellite internet project. On July 21st, it emerged that the project now has 40 satellites in orbit.

According to the company, the satellites successfully separated from the launch vehicle and established contact with Mission Control. After completing post-launch checks and activating all onboard systems, engineers will begin manoeuvring the spacecraft into their designated operational orbit.

Russia’s Rassvet project, being developed as a domestic alternative to the Starlink satellite internet system, has now moved beyond testing and into the deployment of its full satellite constellation, says observers.

Bureau 1440 plans to provide a global broadband data service based on its own low Earth orbit satellite constellation.

According to the company, the system will operate at an altitude of approximately 800 km, offering latency of up to 70 milliseconds and download speeds of up to 1 Gbps per user terminal.

The first three experimental Rassvet-1 satellites were launched into orbit in June 2023 to validate onboard systems and conduct initial communications tests.

In May 2024, three Rassvet-2 satellites were launched as prototypes to test key technologies intended for the production spacecraft. Later that month, the company announced the successful demonstration of an inter-satellite laser communication link with a data transfer rate of 10 Gbps.

According to the company’s plans, the service is expected to enter commercial operation in 2027, with the constellation expanding to 250 satellites. By 2035, Bureau 1440 aims to grow the network to more than 900 satellites. Achieving this target would require regular launches at a rate of roughly 16 satellites per month. At present, however, that launch cadence has not been observed.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: russia, starlink