Russia plans to create another analogue of Starlink — a low-orbit satellite internet system. The cost of the group will range from 9 to 27 billion rubles.
The project is being implemented by the Gonets satellite system (part of Roscosmos). The new group of 180 satellites will replace the low-orbit Marathon IoT system for the Internet of Things and the Skif system for broadband Internet access from medium orbit.
The state corporation was unable to implement these two projects, as the private competitor Bureau 1440 offered a more efficient alternative – the low-orbit system Rassvet and has already launched the first batch of serial satellites with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development.
According to preliminary data, the satellites will be placed at an altitude of 750 km. The system will specialize in transmitting short messages using M2M technologies. The key focus is voice communication and data transmission at low and medium speeds.
The cost of one satellite can range from 50 to 150 million rubles. However, separate launch costs can add several billion or even tens of billions of rubles.
As a reminder, in March 2026, 16 devices of the Rassvet space group were launched into orbit to provide broadband Internet with speeds up to 1 Gbps and minimal delays anywhere on Earth.
The commercial launch of the service is scheduled for 2027 — by this time, more than 250 devices should be operating in orbit. By 2035, the group may be expanded to 900 satellites. The head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadaev, noted that Rassvet will become the answer to Elon Musk's Starlink system