What Russia needs to build its own Starlink: Ukrainian official explains
Photo: Russia plans to launch the Rassvet satellite system into space (Russian media)
Russia needs to conduct 12–15 launches of Soyuz carrier rockets to deploy the Rassvet satellite network in orbit. The system is critical to support its war against Ukraine, according to Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
What is needed for the Rassvet system
Flash said Russia is trying to use the Rassvet network to launch satellites and create an analogue of Starlink.
The expert noted that the satellites have been launched twice so far from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket was used as the carrier rocket. In addition to Plesetsk, satellites can also be launched into orbit from two other spaceports:
- Baikonur
- Vostochny
Beskrestnov noted that one Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle can put 20 satellites into orbit. Russia would need 12–15 launches to establish a basic satellite constellation in orbit.
How can Russia’s satellite network be disrupted?
It is currently unclear how much damage previous Ukrainian missile strikes caused to the Progress plant, which produces components for rockets launching Russian satellites into orbit, Flash said.
He believes that destroying such a huge rocket production facility would require considerable effort. Different parts of completed rockets may also be stored at spaceports or transported elsewhere.
Flash also mentioned the heavy Angara-A5 rocket, which is manufactured in Omsk. It is launched very rarely, about once a year, but theoretically it could carry up to 60 satellites into orbit at once.
However, the expert said he does not know whether the rocket is currently available or ready for launch.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that on the night of August 15, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck Russian targets. The Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, which produces Soyuz rockets, may have been hit.
Flash also said that Russia’s Rassvet satellite network, an analogue of Starlink, could become a problem for Ukraine. The most immediate consequence of its deployment would be improved communications for Russian forces on the battlefield.
In addition, Russia is accelerating the deployment of its Rassvet satellite constellation, getting ahead of the timeline set out in its own plans.
