Russia Loses a Second Rassvet Satellite as U.S. Space Force Prepares a Monday Launch

A Russian Soyuz-2.1b launch carrying a GLONASS-K2 navigation satellite (file photo; not a Rassvet launch). Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

A Rassvet satellite from Russia’s planned low-Earth-orbit internet constellation burned up in the atmosphere on Oct. 30, the second spacecraft from the system lost after launch, Defence Express reported via LB.ua. Rassvet-3 No. 17 was launched on July 19 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the second batch of satellites, and it likely failed to activate its own propulsion system to raise its orbit, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing Defence Express and Aerospace Corporation data.

Key figures: 32 rassvet satellites launched in 2026 · 2 rassvet satellites lost after reentry · 84 SDA satellites in orbit, per its director

Rassvet is being developed by the Russian company Bureau 1440, and Moscow presents it as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink, RBC-Ukraine reported. The system is intended to provide communications, including for military uses such as controlling drones. The first loss, Rassvet-3 No. 4, reentered on June 6 after its March 23 launch. A third satellite, No. 23, had dropped to about 220 kilometers before resuming maneuvers in late October and was at about 296 kilometers on Oct. 29, according to the report.

By the numbers

Russia launched 16 Rassvet satellites on March 23 and 16 more on July 19, for a total of 32. Of the 30 still in orbit, 26 have reached an altitude of 500 kilometers, while the constellation’s planned operating altitude is 800 kilometers, according to Defence Express. Russian authorities have announced plans for 350 satellites, possibly expanding to 900, with commercial service announced for 2027.

Space Force launch set for Monday

SpaceX is targeting Monday, Nov. 2, for the USSF-432 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with a four-hour window opening at 8:42 p.m. ET, AS USA reported. A backup opportunity opens Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 8:28 p.m. ET. The Falcon 9 booster will be making its eighth flight, and residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may hear sonic booms.

Missile-tracking satellites slip to spring

The Space Development Agency’s first missile-tracking satellites will not launch this year, SDA Director Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo said at the MilSat Symposium at Silicon Valley Space Week, SatNews reported. “I was hoping sometime this year we’ll get our first launch up, but doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen,” he said, adding that he now expects the first tracking launch next spring. “We have 84 on orbit right now,” Sandhoo said of the agency’s transport-layer satellites.

The military’s Mobile User Objective System, a five-satellite narrowband network in geostationary orbit, will get two more satellites and ground upgrades, extending its service from about 2030 to 2035 or even 2040, Space Systems Command’s Katherine Coens said, SatNews reported. Bids for RG-XX, the planned successor to the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program inspection satellites, went in Monday, and the Space Force has requested $355 million for it in fiscal 2027 and $2.8 billion over five years, according to SatNews.

Col. Jon Strizzi of Space Systems Command said 14 GPS IIIF satellites are on contract, with first deliveries expected in mid-2027, SatNews reported. At the same session, Xona Space Systems CEO Brian Manning said the company launched its first six commercial navigation satellites on Oct. 20. The Pentagon puts the cost of the Golden Dome missile-defense architecture at $185 billion, with a first capability due in 2028, and Momentus CEO John Rood said the program was “very early still,” SatNews reported.

Military use of satellites is also reshaping insurance. “Right now, those are not insurable risks. These are excluded events,” Tim Rush, a senior partner at Gallagher Aerospace, said of war risks to satellites, SatNews reported.

Earlier coverage: our Oct. 31 space report on India’s navigation satellite launch and China’s reusable spacecraft. Today’s Russia-Ukraine report covers the ground war. Watch for the USSF-432 launch window Monday night and further changes in Rassvet satellites’ altitudes.

Sources

• LB.ua: Defence Express: Russia Loses Another “Rassvet” System Satellite
• RBC-Ukraine: Burned up after launch: Russia's Starlink rival runs into trouble again
• AS USA: Upcoming SpaceX launches in November 2026: Dates, times, and how to watch from home
• SatNews: SDA's First Tracking Satellites Slip to Spring, Sandhoo Says
• SatNews: MUOS Gets Two More Satellites and a Life to 2040
• SatNews: RG-XX Bids Are In. The Award Is a Year Away.
• SatNews: Xona Is in Orbit. Its CEO Says U.S. GPS Backup Leans on China.
• SatNews: Golden Dome Panel Splits on the Program's Political Risk
• SatNews: War in Space Isn't Insurable Yet, Gallagher's Rush Says

Additional sources

• U.S. Space Force news
• U.S. Space Command news
• U.S. Department of War news releases