Russia's Space Internet Dream Crashes Again as 16 Rassvet Satellites Fail to Reach Orbit

Russia's private Bureau 1440's Rassvet constellation failed again as all 16 satellites in the second batch launched July 19 on a Soyuz did not reach the planned 550 km operational orbit, instead ending up at 300–400 km with some likely to re-enter; this follows a first batch where only 12 reached altitude and one fell out of orbit. Lower orbits shorten satellite life, and ISW estimates Russia would need 200–300 fully operational satellites for reliable, round‑the‑clock connectivity over Ukraine; Rassvet currently offers two daily connectivity windows of up to 90 minutes.