Russia: Elon Musk's alternative to Starlink suffers first setback

One of 16 Rassvet satellites, Russia's program to rival Elon Musk's Starlink, disintegrated in the atmosphere around June 6, 2026, less than three months after its March 23 launch. Developed by Bureau 1440, the program aims for 250 satellites by 2027 and 900 by 2035, funded at $1.26 billion. The incident highlights the vast gap with Starlink, which operates over 10,500 satellites serving 10.4 million users. Russia's dependence on foreign networks was exposed in February 2026 when SpaceX cut unauthorized Starlink access by Russian forces in Ukraine.