Rassvet Satellite Constellation to Secure Digital Sovereignty for Russia and Its Partners – Expert
/ Go to the mediabankIn this handout photo released by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Meteor-M 2-4 weather satellite and 18 Russian and foreign cubesats, is set at the launchpad ahead of its upcoming launch at the Vostochny cosmodrome in Amur Region, Russia
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The Rassvet aims to support Russia’s digital economy and safeguard its independence, Andrey Ionin, adviser to the CEO of Geoscan Group and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, tells Sputnik.“In Moscow, satellite communications are more of a luxury because fiber-optic networks, Wi-Fi, and mobile connectivity are readily available. But in Siberia and the Arctic, they are simply a necessity,” the pundit says.Modern satellite systems are part of the terrestrial digital economy, which requires continuous and guaranteed internet connectivity. But no sovereign country would allow essential services within its borders to depend on a system it does not control and that could be switched off at any time. This is the main reason for developing an independent system, including to serve military users, Ionin explains.
“Why does Elon Musk have 11,000 or perhaps already 12,000 [Starlink] satellites, while Russia will have just 300? Because, in principle, 300 satellites are sufficient for the tasks at hand: they provide continuous space-based communications coverage for all users across the entire territory of Russia,” he says.
Russia is also ready to provide connectivity to countries of the Global South, which in fact make up the Global Majority, Ionin emphasizes.“These are the countries to which Russia can export not just technology but sovereignty itself, enabling them to secure their own digital independence,” he says, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks made during the recent Russia-Africa Summit.Russia’s potential customers include BRICS countries in particular – Brazil, India and South Africa – as well as other countries across the African continent and beyond. This is a huge market, and Russia is unlikely to stop at the 300 satellites it plans to put into orbit by 2028, according to the expert.
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