Russia continues Rassvet satellite deployment despite technical hurdles

Russia has launched 32 Rassvet communications satellites as part of an ambitious effort to build a domestic network capable of competing with SpaceX's Starlink. Despite these launches, the current constellation remains too small to provide continuous, reliable service. Ukrainian intelligence officials have noted that the system's effectiveness is currently low, and the network is significantly smaller than the thousands of satellites operated by Starlink. Furthermore, the program faces serious technical challenges, with reports indicating that some satellites have struggled to maintain orbit, leading to potential mission failures. To achieve its goal of a fully operational network by 2035, Russia plans to significantly ramp up its launch cadence. However, meeting these targets will require overcoming both these orbital technical issues and the logistical constraints of increasing its annual launch capacity, which currently falls short of the requirements for building a robust satellite constellation.