Second Rassvet Satellite Burns Up as Russia's Starlink Alternative Hits New Setback

Russia's bid to build a domestic alternative to Starlink has lost a second satellite, with a Rassvet-3 spacecraft reentering Earth's atmosphere on October 30 after failing to reach its intended orbit. The loss marks the second failure to strike the constellation developed by Bureau 1440.

The satellite, designated Rassvet-3 No. 17, burned up just three months and 11 days after its launch aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket on July 19. It apparently never activated its propulsion system to raise its orbit, leaving it to lose altitude gradually to atmospheric drag until it was destroyed.

The Rassvet constellation is intended as Russia's domestic answer to SpaceX's Starlink. The first loss, Rassvet-3 No. 4, reentered the atmosphere on June 6 after experiencing similar difficulties. Earlier reports had indicated that two Rassvet-3 satellites were rapidly losing altitude and risked burning up within weeks. One of those has now been lost.

The second troubled satellite, No. 23, was rescued. It began raising its orbit on October 20 after descending to roughly 220 kilometers, and has since climbed to around 300 kilometers while continuing to gain altitude. Despite the two losses, the overall constellation remains operational in its testing phase. Of the 30 Rassvet-3 satellites still in orbit, 26 have reached approximately 500 kilometers, with another approaching that altitude.

The planned operational altitude is around 800 kilometers. The satellites are currently positioning themselves at 500 kilometers ahead of a coordinated ascent. Bureau 1440 has also reportedly begun testing satellite internet terminals in remote Russian regions. Separately, equipment resembling satellite communication terminals has been spotted aboard Russian drones used against Ukraine, though its connection to the Rassvet network remains unconfirmed.

The two satellite losses highlight technical challenges in Russia's effort to establish an independent satellite internet network, but do not necessarily indicate that the wider project is failing. The successful recovery of No. 23 shows that at least one troubled spacecraft was brought back from a similar decaying orbit.

The next milestone for the constellation is the coordinated ascent from the current 500 kilometer staging altitude toward the planned operational orbit of around 800 kilometers, with 26 satellites already positioned and another nearing that altitude.