Russia's Starlink rival suffers major setback as 16 satellites fail to reach orbit
A batch of 16 Russian Rassvet-3 satellites launched July 19 failed to reach their intended ~500-mile orbit and are currently at about 190–250 miles, risking rapid reentry. The setback hampers Moscow’s plan to rival SpaceX’s Starlink, as Bureau 1440 has only 32 satellites launched so far and faces continued deployment and reliability challenges.