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Moscow Building Starlink Alternative Quickly, Says Space Chief
September 17, 2025
Russia is planning to create a satellite internet service to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink, according to the head of the country’s space agency, Dmitry Bakanov.
He acknowledged that Russia needs to move away from outdated thinking that has allowed SpaceX to dominate the satellite industry.
Starlink currently has over 8,000 satellites and is widely used in remote areas and conflict zones, including by Ukrainian forces.
Bakanov stated that Russia is working on developing its own low-Earth orbit satellite system for global internet services, with a Russian aerospace company called Bureau 1440 leading the project.
He highlighted that several test vehicles in orbit have already been evaluated, and adjustments have been made to production models.
Bakanov also noted that Russia has learned from past mistakes, including a 2002 incident where they dismissed Musk’s business proposals.
Historically, the Soviet Union was a leader in the space race, launching Sputnik 1 in 1957 and sending the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space in 1961.
However, after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Russia faced funding challenges and poor management in its space program.
The recent Luna-25 mission failure in August 2023 further impacted their ambitions.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2025/09/17/moscow-building-starlink-alternative-quickly-says-space-chief/