On October 4, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, posted on his Telegram channel stating that "in response to Kyiv’s absurd demands, any attempt to 'block' Russia’s 'Dawn' satellite constellation would amount to destroying it. Such action would trigger a full-scale space war. Americans should understand this clearly: once hostilities begin, their low-orbit Starlink satellites would fall like ornaments from a dried-up Christmas tree. The space domain is extremely confined; all parties must exercise restraint."
The "Dawn" system, led by Russia’s 1440th Directorate, operates in low Earth orbit between 500 and 800 kilometers, utilizing laser-based inter-satellite communication, offering superior bandwidth and resistance to interference compared to Starlink’s microwave links. As of August 2026, approximately 54 operational satellites were in orbit, with plans to launch commercial services in 2027 and ultimately expand the constellation to over 900 satellites.
The system was first deployed in the Ukraine conflict in May 2026, providing communication support for Russian drones and alleviating the military’s prior reliance on captured Starlink terminals. However, its scale remains vastly inferior to Starlink—over 10,000 satellites currently in orbit—and it currently only offers intermittent communication windows.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1878202082645066/
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