How Moscow is trying to replace Starlink with Rassvet, and why its satellites are falling from orbit

Russia's effort to build a low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation capable of compensating for the loss of Starlink on the battlefield is not going according to plan. Despite more than $5 billion in public and private funding, the Rassvet project has encountered problems after two launches.

The first launch sent 16 satellites into orbit on March 23, followed by another 16 on July 19. Yet by Aug. 31, none of the satellites in the second batch had reached the expected altitude of 550 kilometers, according to real-time tracking data from N2YO analyzed by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

Most of the July satellites were orbiting between 300 and 400 kilometers. Two were reportedly in the process of reentering the atmosphere, where they would be expected to disintegrate completely. Their apparent descent follows the fate of a satellite from the first batch, which lost the ability to maneuver after its March launch, drifted and burned up during reentry around June 6.

The setback casts doubt on whether Rassvet can deliver the battlefield communications role expected of it. The project has attracted considerable attention and funding, but the latest launch has left all 16 satellites below their planned operating altitude.