Russia's Rassvet-3 satellite internet project faces orbital decay

Russia’s attempt to develop a satellite internet constellation to rival SpaceX’s Starlink is facing significant technical setbacks. Two of the latest Rassvet-3 satellites, launched in July, are rapidly losing altitude and are projected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere in late October and early November.

While Russia accelerated the program following SpaceX’s decision to cut off Russian access to Starlink, the constellation has struggled to reach its intended 800km orbit. Current satellites are operating at much lower altitudes, between 250km and 512km, which results in reduced coverage. This follows a similar incident in June when an earlier Rassvet-3 satellite fell back to Earth.

Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have suggested the constellation is unlikely to be successful in the near future. Although the lower orbit might be an intentional adjustment to accommodate Russian rocketry capabilities or reduce latency, the current technical issues limit the network's reliability and speed compared to established competitors.