Russia’s Rassvet satellites, built by the private company Bureau 1440, now provide at least two communications windows over Ukraine each day, each lasting more than an hour, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi reported on Aug. 1, citing satellite communications expert Volodymyr Stepanets.
Stepanets reached the conclusion after analyzing the satellites’ trajectories. During those windows, Russian forces could theoretically use satellite terminals for communications and control of naval drones. The network could also support heavy strike and reconnaissance drones based on the Geran-2, Geran-3 and Geran-4 series, the report said.
The satellites had effectively formed an operational formation in orbit as of July 31, 2026. Twelve of the 16 satellites had reached their operational altitude of 550 kilometers, or 342 miles. Three others were still being raised into their operational orbits, while one satellite burned up, likely because of a defect.
“We can see that a chain with good coverage has essentially formed. About twice a day, it creates this kind of broad coverage,” Stepanets said. “But there are actually more passes, meaning several such chains may cross over and cover different regions at intervals of about an hour and a half. What is important is that these satellites are already providing fairly dense coverage.”
The satellites’ orbits bring them within line of sight of Ukraine four times a day, Militarnyi reported, citing data from the N2YO tracking service. Only two or three of those passes carry the satellites high enough above the horizon to maintain stable communications with ground terminals.
The system has been described as Russia’s equivalent of Starlink since Russian forces were blocked from using SpaceX terminals in Ukraine. Bureau 1440 announced on July 20 that it had placed a second group of communications satellites into orbit for the Rassvet project, moving the effort from testing toward deployment of a full orbital constellation.
Military expert and presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov, known by the call sign Flash, has said Russia would need to launch at least 200 to 250 satellites to provide stable data transmission. “Theoretically, the enemy can already install satellite internet terminals on Shaheds and plan an attack during a satellite pass,” he said. “But I believe this is too complicated to organize, and there will be no military use until there are enough satellites in orbit to provide stable communications.”
Flash wrote that if Russia began using Rassvet satellites for military purposes, Ukraine would detect it through satellite traffic, intelligence, or captured equipment.
Sources: The New Voice of Ukraine, Militarnyi, N2YO
Author: Ukraine Desk
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