The head of Russia's "Starlink" project says engineering progress is ahead of schedule, responding to reports about half of the satellites failing

According to Russian business consulting news agency, Alexey Shelyubkov, head of 1440 Design Bureau under IKS Holding, has publicly stated that the company's low-Earth orbit satellite constellation "Rassvet (Dawn)" is progressing smoothly overall, even exceeding its original timeline. All technical risks are controllable and foreseeable. Internal testing and user trials were launched in August—earlier than the initially scheduled September milestone. "We are fully within the allowed development window for the project, with progress slightly ahead of schedule."

This statement comes amid foreign media exposure of project failures. Business Insider reported that satellites from the second launch failed to reach and maintain their designated orbit; the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also released a related assessment report. None of the 16 satellites launched on July 19 reached the target orbit of 870 kilometers. Many remained at altitudes between 300–400 km, with some experiencing continuous orbital decay—potentially causing at least two satellites to re-enter Earth's atmosphere imminently. The first batch, launched in March, also exhibited defects: as of late August, only 12 out of 16 satellites were stably operating at the 550-kilometer working orbit, providing intermittent communication services limited to two sessions per day, each lasting no more than one and a half hours.

Shelyubkov noted that core partners have completed service testing, and the first "Dawn" terminal device has already been installed on a Russian Railways train, with field trials expected shortly. He emphasized that such satellite communication projects inherently carry substantial technical risks, which were already factored into the design phase and remain fully manageable throughout the process.

However, the Institute for the Study of War provided statistics showing that by the end of August, only 37.5% of the "Dawn" satellites had entered stable operational orbits. The complete failure of the second batch indicates that Russia’s rush to rapidly build a domestic satellite network has outpaced its technological readiness. As a result, the project is highly likely to face further delays.

Russia’s goal in developing "Dawn" is to create a domestically produced satellite communication system capable of replacing "Starlink." Earlier this year, following a request from Ukraine’s former Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, SpaceX cut off Starlink services in Russian-controlled areas, leaving Russian forces without this critical satellite communication support.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875375904255104/

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