Russia Launches Soyuz-2.1b Rocket, Possibly Carrying Rassvet Satellites

Russia conducted another launch of a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle on September 17, carrying a classified spacecraft amid the deployment of the Rassvet low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation.

The launch was reported by Russia’s defence agency.

The rocket was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The agency also said that a stable telemetry link had been established with the spacecraft and that its onboard systems were operating normally.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not disclose the name, number, characteristics, or purpose of the spacecraft.

According to Next Spaceflight, the launch used a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat-M upper stage. The mission’s payload is identified by the resource as a classified military satellite or satellites from the Kosmos series, while noting that information about it remains uncertain.

It cannot be ruled out that the launch may be related to the further deployment of Russia’s Rassvet low-Earth-orbit communications system.

In March 2026, Russia began deploying this constellation. At the time, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket placed 16 satellites operated by Bureau 1440 into orbit, which are expected to form the backbone of Russia’s Rassvet satellite communications system.

This theory is supported by the fact that Russia has already used Soyuz-2.1b rockets and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome to launch satellites for this constellation.

In July, a second group of satellites for the system was launched into orbit.

Russia plans to continue launching the spacecraft at a high rate. According to DIU, by the end of 2027, Russia plans to deploy a constellation of 292 Rassvet satellites and increase it to 924 spacecraft by 2035.

At the same time, there is currently no confirmation that these satellites were the payload of the new Soyuz-2.1b launch. Another possibility is that one or more classified military spacecraft were placed into orbit, as has happened several times in 2026.

On February 5, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket placed nine objects into orbit, which were later designated Kosmos-2600 through Kosmos-2608. Analysis of their orbital parameters suggested that some of the spacecraft may have had a reconnaissance role.

In April, Russia launched three more military satellites into orbit. U.S. Space Force tracked three objects in polar orbits at altitudes of approximately 450–550 km.

Thus, Russia uses Soyuz-2.1b rockets both to deploy the Rassvet constellation and to launch classified military spacecraft into orbit.

Soyuz-2 family rockets are mass-produced by Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara. On the night of August 15, the company’s industrial site was attacked by Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles.

Later, satellite imagery showed significant damage to Building 106A of Progress Centre, where onboard electrical equipment, control systems, cable networks, and instrument compartments for Soyuz-2 rockets were assembled.