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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
🛰️😡 Russia may already be able to use its own Starlink analogue to strike Ukraine, but full coverage will not appear before spring 2027, an expert told UNIAN
Former adviser to the head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Andriy Kolesnyk said that the Russian satellite system "Rassvet" is already capable of providing communications, although so far only for about 40–45 minutes twice a day.
According to him, the Russians could theoretically use this connection to control unmanned boats during attacks on Odesa region and the Danube. To do this, it is enough to synchronize the boats’ departure to sea with the satellites’ overflight so operators can maneuver and select targets in real time. Whether this scheme is being used in practice is still unknown.
Installing terminals on Russia’s strike drones would take about six more months, since the existing equipment is too bulky and power-hungry.
So far Russia has launched 32 Rassvet satellites, one of which has already burned up in the atmosphere, and two more are close to failing. About 130 spacecraft are needed for continuous coverage of all of Ukraine.
Kolesnyk believes that even in a scenario favorable to Russia, it will not be possible to deploy such a constellation before spring 2027. An additional obstacle may have been the Ukrainian strike on 15 in August on the rocket-and-space center in Samara, where launch vehicles are assembled to put satellites into orbit.
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