The company "Bureau 1440" successfully completed the first batch launch of 16 spacecraft of the low-orbit satellite constellation "Rassvet". The devices separated from the launch vehicle and were taken over by the Mission Control Center.
Next in line is checking the onboard systems and reaching the target orbit. Bureau 1440 noted that this is the first step towards creating a domestic communication service. The company went from experiments to launch in 1000 days.
Ahead are dozens of launches and hundreds of satellites of the Russian low-orbit group for a communication service with global coverage.
The head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadaev, noted that "Rassvet" will become a response to Elon Musk's Starlink system. According to plans, by the end of 2030, the Bureau 1440 group should increase to 292 satellites, and a total of 383 satellites are to be launched.
Russia has seriously taken up the development of satellite communications. In parallel with Rassvet, the idea of launching Argus stratospheric drones flying at an altitude of up to 25 km is being promoted. The project is being considered as an alternative way of transmitting data according to a principle similar to the Starlink system.
