{"id":557723,"date":"2026-03-24T15:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/557723\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:24:09","slug":"russian-aerospace-company-launches-first-batch-of-starlink-rival-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/557723\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Aerospace Company Launches First Batch of Starlink Rival Satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Russian aerospace company has launched the first batch of low-orbit satellites that will eventually make up a vast satellite internet constellation under a project meant to rival SpaceX\u2019s Starlink, the business newspaper Kommersant reported<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The first elements of the state-funded satellite constellation, known as Rassvet, were supposed to go up into space late last year, but delays pushed the start of the launch schedule back to this month.<\/p>\n

Bureau 1440, the private aerospace company developing the network, told Kommersant that 16 satellites were launched into space on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

The company said the satellites would undergo system checks before moving into their target orbit positions.<\/p>\n

The satellite internet constellation is intended to provide broadband internet access across Russia and serve as a domestic alternative to Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

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Alexei Shelobkov, CEO of Bureau 1440\u2019s parent company, ICS Holding, told Kommersant that the next stage of Rassvet\u2019s deployment would involve dozens more launches.<\/p>\n

Roscosmos chief\u00a0Dmitry Bakanov previously said<\/a> that more than 900 low-orbit satellites in the Rassvet network are scheduled to go into space by 2035. Commercial operations involving over 250 satellites in the constellation are expected to begin sometime next year.<\/p>\n

For comparison, SpaceX\u2019s Starlink network has deployed more than 7,000 satellites in low Earth orbit since its first launches began in 2019.<\/p>\n

The Russian government has earmarked 102.8 billion rubles ($1.26 billion) for the development of Rassvet. Bureau 1440 plans to invest an additional 329 billion rubles ($4 billion) of its own funds through 2030.<\/p>\n

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