Rocket booster for Russia's Starlink equivalent set to splash down in the Barents Sea
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket is expected to launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome within the next few days, carrying another batch of Rassvet satellites into orbit.
Roscosmos, Russia’s state space agency, has issued a warning for a potential rocket-stage splashdown in the Barents Sea at any time before the evening of 27 August. Once a rocket booster has completed its task, it separates from the upper stage and falls back to Earth.
Anyone flying or sailing in the area is being warned to stay away. Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) are available from the Norwegian aviation authorities, while both Norway’s FishInfo and Russia’s Sea Port Administration for the Western Arctic in Murmansk have published corresponding Navigational Warnings (PRIPs).
The launch is due to take place from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region.
The first 16 low-Earth-orbit satellites in the Rassvet constellation were launched in March this year, followed by another batch in July, after a planned April launch was postponed. In total, around 350 satellites are planned. By 2027, when the first 250 satellites are expected to be in orbit, the service is expected to become commercially operational.
Rassvet is Russia’s equivalent of Starlink in the sense that it is designed to provide satellite-based internet and communications services through a network of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. The main difference is scale — and the fact that Russia’s system is controlled by state and military structures in Moscow.
“Russia has already begun using the early Rassvet constellation over Ukraine,” said Kristian Åtland, an expert on Russia’s war against Ukraine and its implications for the High North.
Åtland, of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, said Russia’s use of the satellites over Ukraine had so far been intermittent.
“At present, there are not enough Rassvet satellites in orbit to provide continuous coverage. If successful, the upcoming launch of additional satellites will probably increase coverage and reduce the gaps between satellite passes over Ukraine and other regions,” Åtland explained.
“A larger and more mature Rassvet constellation, covering larger geographic areas with greater continuity, could improve the Russian Armed Forces’ ability to maintain secure communications during military operations, coordinate geographically dispersed forces and support the operation of unmanned systems, including aerial drones,” he told the Barents Observer.
Rassvet was initially marketed as a satellite-based internet service for civilian use. However, according to The Insider, Vladimir Putin has said that work on a Russian equivalent of Elon Musk’s Starlink is progressing at a good pace. He has also indicated that soldiers on the ground could soon benefit from access to the satellites.
Musk allows Ukrainian forces to use Starlink in Ukrainian-controlled territory, while access to the network is blocked inside Russia.
Ukrainian authorities have reportedly asked Elon Musk to allow Starlink to be used in support of drone strikes against Russian military targets inside Russia. However, both the billionaire and Donald Trump have rejected the option, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Even without Starlink satellite navigation, Ukraine has successfully struck targets across Russia in recent months using long-range drones. On Saturday, at least one drone was filmed over Syktyvkar in the Komi Republic, more than 1,700 kilometres from the front line. On Sunday, a drone alert was reported in Kargopol in the Arkhangelsk region, although no impact had been reported at the time of writing.
