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An unannounced launch from Plesetsk delivers "Russian Starlink" On the evening of March 23, 2026, multiple witnesses in and around town of Ukhta, northeast of the Plesetsk launch site, observed and documented a typical rocket vehicle ascending through the upper atmosphere, however neither Roskosmos nor the Ministry of Defense issued a routine announcement through the official state media in the aftermath of the event, as it would normally be done with a few exceptions since the beginning of the Space Era. Several hours later, Moscow-based Buro 1440 (INSIDER CONTENT) published a video showing the release of the first batch of Rassvet satellites (INSIDER CONTENT) from the upper stage of the launch vehicle.
Orbital launch on March 23, 2026, at a glance:
One of the first confirmations that the observed mission reached orbit came from the r4uab.ru web site, which announced that the OBZP1 micro-satellite, (known by Russian abbreviation MKA for Maliy Kosmicheskiy Apparat), established contact with the network of the Efir amateur radio stations, following its launch from Plesetsk on March 23, 2026. The message also referenced a 290 by 324-kilometer orbit with an inclination of 82.3 degrees toward the Equator, which matched the observations on the ground for a flight path previously used by Soyuz and Rockot vehicles launching from Plesetsk. It was also consistent with a flight and sea-faring restriction notices issued by the Russian government in recent days and believed to be associated with the planned launch of the first batch of Rassvet satellites (INSIDER CONTENT) for the low-orbital Internet network developed at Moscow-based Buro 1440. (INSIDER CONTENT) Despite a great deal of publicity around the "Russian Starlink" and its developer — Buro 1440 — the company's first launch campaign in Plesetsk was surrounded by a military-level secrecy. No launch date had been officially announced for the mission and no visuals of the payload processing had been published ahead of the launch. On March 16, 2026, Russian authorities issued warnings for sea and air traffic in the Barents Sea for a rocket launch planned during a period from March 19 to March 28, 2026, during a 10-hour window from 11:00 to 21:00 UTC. The projected impact site was located along a ground track leading to an orbit with an inclination around 83 degrees toward the Equator, roughly matching a flight corridor previously flown by Soyuz and Rockot vehicles. As of May 2025, this mission was expected in December 2025 and it was known to be in preparation in Plesetsk since at least late 2025, when a Soyuz-2 rocket, assigned to launch the first Rassvet satellites, was rumored to be rolled to the launch pad for a dress rehearsal. By the end of January 2026, the launch was expected between Feb. 20 and Feb. 28, 2026, but it was then postponed until the end of March.
The first 16 Rassvet-3 satellites, with a mass of around 370-kilograms each, followed trios of Rassvet-1 and -2 experimental spacecraft, launched in 2023 and 2024, respectively, as hitchhiker payloads. The first operational launch came just weeks after Starlink deactivated numerous unauthorized terminals used by the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine, further exacerbating the years-long quagmire for the Kremlin. However, at the time of the Rassvet-3 launch, it was unknown how long it would take for Buro-1440 to manufacture and deploy enough satellites and ground infrastructure to make a meaningful impact on the market at home or abroad. Launch scenario
To deliver Rassvet satellites, a Soyuz-2 rocket turned northeast seconds after a vertical liftoff and then headed roughly along the ascent corridor previously used to deliver Kobalt-M satellites. Around two minutes into the flight, the vehicle dropped four boosters of the first stage, which were projected to crash near the town of Koida in the Menzensk District of the Arkhanegelsk Region, on the shore of the Barents Sea. Seconds later, it was followed by the separation of the payload fairing, whose two sections impacted the Barents Sea, off the coast of Kanin Peninsula. Around five minutes into the flight, the second stage was to complete its work and separate on a ballistic trajectory impacting the Arctic Ocean, north of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The third stage completed the orbital insertion of the 16-satellite cluster around 8.5 minutes after the liftoff, likely releasing the satellites into a near-polar circular orbit with an inclination around 83 degrees toward the Equator. The satellites were expected to separate from the upper stage in short intervals and would likely use their own propulsion systems to evenly spread along the orbital plane intended for the constellation.
On the morning of March 24, 2026, Buro 1440 issued a press-release and a video confirming that 16 of its satellites were launched from Plesetsk on March 23, 2026, at 20:24 Moscow Time. The company said that after reaching an initial orbit, the satellites successfully separated from the launch vehicle and were under control of Buro 1440. The testing of the satellites and their transfer to a target orbit was planned next, according to Buro 1440.
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