Is Russia's rival to Starlink failing? Here's what we know.

At least three of the first 32 Rassvet satellites likely suffered outright failures, and more may be in trouble.

The short version

• Russia’s attempt to replicate SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network seems to be moving as slowly as the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
• The Rassvet program, often billed as Russia’s answer to Starlink, started launching its first operational satellites earlier this year.
• The company in charge of Rassvet, Bureau 1440, wants to deploy 924 satellites by 2035.

What happened

But none of the 32 satellites launched so far have reached the 500-mile (800-kilometer) orbit they were designed to operate in. The rockets that launched the first two batches of Rassvets released the satellites much closer to Earth, and the satellites were expected to use their own plasma engines to raise their orbits over the next few months.

Why it matters

The highest altitude achieved by the Rassvet satellites so far is a little more than 300 miles (500 kilometers).

Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.