MOSCOW – Russian officials announced Tuesday they successfully deployed 16 satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of Moscow’s ambitious plan to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet constellation.
The satellite deployment, which occurred Monday, represents Russia’s initial operational launch in their effort to challenge Starlink’s dominance. However, Moscow faces a significant gap, as Starlink has expanded to over 10,000 operational satellites since beginning service in 2019.
Bureau 1440, the Russian aerospace company behind the low-Earth orbit satellite project designed for worldwide broadband internet access, confirmed the successful launch of their inaugural operational satellite group.
“The launch of the first devices of the target group is a transition from experiment to the creation of a communication service,” the company stated.
Russia’s space program once dominated early space exploration achievements, including launching Sputnik 1 in 1957 and sending cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the first person to orbit Earth in 1961 during the Soviet era.
However, following the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, Russia’s space initiatives have faced significant challenges including inadequate funding, corruption issues, and complaints from younger engineers regarding poor leadership.
A 2015 biography of Musk by author Ashlee Vance revealed that Russian officials rejected Musk as unreliable in 2002, which motivated him to develop alternatives to Russia’s space launch pricing.
