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Russia's Latest Starlink Rival Satellites Are Falling Out of Orbit
PCMag • • world
Key Points:
- Russia's rival to Starlink, the Rassvet-3 satellite internet constellation, is facing significant challenges as two recently launched satellites are rapidly losing altitude and expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere within weeks.
- The Rassvet-3 satellites have not reached their planned 800km orbit, with many currently orbiting between 250km and 512km, resulting in reduced coverage and limited constellation functionality.
- The lower orbit may be an intentional adjustment to improve launch feasibility and reduce latency, but it compromises the original network design and overall performance.
- Despite these issues, Russian forces in Ukraine reportedly use the network for up to two hours daily, indicating some operational potential, though it remains far less capable than Starlink's extensive satellite network.
- Russia aims to expand the Rassvet constellation to 250 satellites by 2027, but this goal depends on more frequent and successful rocket launches amid growing competition from China and Europe in satellite broadband development.
