Russia lost two Rassvet-3 satellites after they failed to maintain their orbital altitude, according to reports from Delfi. One satellite, identified by NORAD code 100083, burned up in the atmosphere after its trajectory correction engine failed to activate following a July 19 launch. A second satellite launched in the spring suffered a similar altitude loss and burned up on June 6.
Russia recovers third Rassvet satellite from low orbit
Russian operators averted a third loss on October 20 by manually raising a satellite that had drifted down to approximately 220 km. The satellite has since reached an altitude of 300 km and continues to climb, Delfi reported. This intervention prevented the craft from entering the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up like its predecessors.
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Analysts noted that early satellite constellations often face initial losses; during the first Starlink launch, 10 out of 60 satellites failed to reach their intended orbits.
Current status of the Rassvet satellite group
Despite the two losses, the overall status of the constellation is not critical. Data from Defence Express shows that 26 of the 30 remaining satellites in orbit have reached an altitude of approximately 500 km, with one more expected to reach that level shortly.
| Metric | Current Status | Target Altitude |
|---|---|---|
| Satellites at ~500 km | 26 | 800 km |
| Total in orbit | 30 | — |
While the satellites are intended to operate at 800 km, they are currently being deployed at 500 km. Defence Express stated that this is a preparation phase before all satellites have their orbits raised simultaneously, and therefore the current altitude should not be viewed as a mission failure.
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Ukrainian warnings on real-time drone control
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an advisor to the President of Ukraine, warned that Russia could rapidly expand the Rassvet system. He stated that increasing the number of satellites to 200–250 would allow Russia to control missiles and drones across all of Ukraine in real time.
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Beskrestnov noted that Chinese support could accelerate the project. He urged the development of electronic warfare tools specifically designed to counter the Rassvet system before Russia begins using it on a mass scale.
Rassvet constellation questions
The system is intended to provide real-time control of drones and missiles over Ukrainian territory once the constellation reaches 200–250 satellites.
Why did the NORAD 100083 satellite fail to maintain its altitude? The satellite failed to activate its trajectory correction engine after being launched on a Soyuz-2.1B rocket, causing its altitude to drop to a critical limit over three months and 11 days.
The Rassvet-3 satellite identified as NORAD 100083 was part of a group of 16 satellites launched on July 19.
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