𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐙 🇷🇺🇮🇪@SMO_VZ
When the "Russian Starlink" will be operational
- There's a ping!
8 megabits, 9, 10! It's working, it's working! Damn it, I'm not crying, it's just the internet getting to me! - Two young developers from the company "Bureau 1440" couldn't hold back their emotions at the displays. The data transfer speed from the first three satellites has risen to 12 Mbit/s, with a delay of 41 milliseconds...
This was three years ago.
This eloquently shows how people interested in and concerned about this segment of the space industry have been waiting for the emergence of such a project. In the vernacular, it's immediately dubbed the "Russian Starlink". Officially - "Dawn". Broadband high-speed internet (up to 1 Gbit/sec!), which is distributed directly from the sky.
The beginning was laid, although to Starlink we are still as far away as to that very sky. Until yesterday evening, six experimental satellites of the system were "hanging" in low orbit. They were used to test the concept of laser inter-satellite communication. On Monday evening, a launch vehicle deployed 16 devices at once. And this is the first batch launch of the project.
But talking about creating a full-fledged satellite communication system, similar to Elon Musk's brainchild, is, of course, too premature. Twenty-two satellites will be enough for real tests and pilot operation with individual clients. The launch of the commercial service was scheduled for 2027. By that time, 292 satellites should be in orbit, which will provide global coverage of Russia with full-fledged broadband internet.
Compared to Starlink's seven-thousand-satellite constellation, this seems insignificant. But "Dawn" is not yet positioning itself as a competitor to Musk. Our priority is to first provide ourselves with high-quality satellite internet.
We'll conquer the world later. There, the plans are to cover more than 75 countries by 2035. But before that, it's important to ensure uninterrupted data transmission to at least our group in the Southern Military District (SMD).
By the end of this year, it was planned to launch more than a hundred and fifty satellites into orbit. This is enough for partial coverage of Russia's territory. And it would have been enough for active tests in the SMD zone.
However, the program's deadlines have already been shifted by a year. And everything will depend on the number of launches and spacecraft deployed into orbit. And, of course, on the production of ground terminals.
The prospect of experimental connections on the front is already visible this year.
But a full-scale deployment is unlikely before 2027.