Russia Likely Preparing to Launch Rassvet Satellites, Considered Alternative to Starlink

Russia is likely preparing to launch satellites for the Rassvet communications system, which it calls an alternative to Starlink.

This is indicated by a NOTAM notice, which was brought to light by user @afec7032 on X.

He suggests that this refers to a mission to launch Rassvet satellites into orbit.

According to the NOTAM, the launch of one or two launch vehicles is tentatively scheduled for the period between July 11 at 21:00 UTC and July 16 at 21:00 UTC from Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

Rassvet satellite communication system

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is working on deploying a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to control drones. This likely refers to the Rassvet communications system developed by Bureau 1440.

The first three satellites in the constellation were launched into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in 2023. They became part of the Rassvet-1 mission and were launched into space alongside other Roscosmos spacecraft. The satellites were not intended for full-scale network operations—they were used for testing, especially for verifying data transmission, communication stability, and the satellites’ behavior in orbit.

In May 2024, as part of the Rassvet-2 mission, three more satellites were launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome. These satellites were larger than the previous ones and were already fully-fledged prototypes of production models. In particular, they were used to test satellite communication equipment supporting the 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) standard, as well as laser communication links between satellites.

On March 23, 2026, with a delay of approximately three months from the original schedule due to production issues, Bureau 1440 announced the launch of 16 satellites into orbit, which will form the basis of the future Rassvet communications system.

The Russian federal project Internet Access Infrastructure calls for the phased deployment of the Rassvet system: 156 satellites in 2026; 292—enough to fully launch commercial service—in 2027; and 318 in 2028.

Even the initial implementation of the plans for 2026–2027 will allow the Russian military to once again have at its disposal a reliable Starlink-like communication system, which can be used, in particular, to control strike drones.

Like Starlink terminals, Russian terminals are based on active phased array (APAR) technology, which allows the terminal to automatically establish and maintain communication with a satellite.

More details on this communication system are available in our special report “Russian Rassvet Satellite System: Strategic Threat to Ukraine and the Democratic World.”