Russia is reportedly losing two more “Rassvet” low-orbit satellites, the country’s domestic answer to SpaceX’s Starlink service, as they failed to stay in orbit.
The Moscow Times on Monday, citing cosmonaut researcher Anatoly Zak, said the satellites belonged to a batch launched on July 20, and both failed to complete their orbit-raising maneuver.
As a result, they have now descended below 300 km (186 miles) and risk burning up in the atmosphere during reentry.
The outlet added that three more failed to ascend and are hovering at around 310-330 km (193-205 miles), while an additional nine are “maneuvering” but remain 200 km (124 miles) below the altitude reached by the test batch at a similar stage of an earlier launch.
One of the 16 satellites launched in March as the test batch was also confirmed lost in June.
Russian troops lost access to Starlink, a satellite internet service that enables crucial frontline communications, after Ukraine worked with SpaceX to introduce a registration system in February.
Rassvet is set to become Russia’s Starlink alternative, announced in 2025 and managed by Russian firm Bureau 1440. The company planned to launch 292 satellites by 2027, according to Ukrainian military intelligence earlier this year.
By comparison, the US’s Starlink currently has over 7,800 active satellites in orbit, according to SpaceX.
The CEO of Bureau 1440’s parent company, Iks Holding, also said the Rassvet is set to become commercially available by 2027.
Despite their low numbers, analysts have recently warned that Rassvet has been able to provide at least two daily “communication windows” over Ukraine, each lasting more than an hour.
According to the N2YO tracking service, the Russian satellites are in orbits that allow them to pass over Ukraine four times a day. However, during only two or three of these passes do the satellites rise high enough above the horizon to ensure a stable connection with ground terminals.