Russian analogue of Starlink vs Ukrainian: is there a threat to Europe and should we expect a war in space?
SpaceX's Starlink system in Ukraine plays an important role in warding off Russian aggression. Its analogue is already operating in Russia - the Rasbet satellite communication system. It has already sent 30 vehicles to the track. By comparison, Starlink has about 11,200 satellites. Ukraine's HIMERA and Denmark's GomSpace have announced the creation of their communication system, while Obria Nano is the first satellite, 245 are planned to be launched.
"The Starlink system cannot be assembled from 30 parts, but neither Rasbet nor the Ukrainian project needs global coverage. They only need to close the territory of Ukraine, and for the Ukrainian system - a part of the territory of Russia," explains expert Vitaly Egorov, a lover of astronautics, and author of the Green Cat morning open channel, in the DW Open Space program.
Russian satellites are "flying and capable of carrying out their missions". "Not around the clock, but they are able to establish stable communication above the front line for tens of minutes, which is enough for guidance, tracking and information transfer," says the expert. At the same time, sanctions and a lack of components prevent the Russian Federation from developing Rasbet, Egorov states:
"We can judge from the fact that they wanted to launch 10 rockets with satellites, but they launched two, and it is not clear when the third will fly. There is no data on where the components come from. Judging by the fact that production is lagging behind in quantitative terms, not everything is so rosy. But they are reaching the required height, and there is no need to say that everything is bad for Rasbet."
According to the expert, the Ukrainian initiative lags behind the Russian project: "Theoretically it's the same system, but they started doing it a little late. (..) Even to reach the level of "Shahar", three years is a very optimistic period, more likely."
The Financial Times previously reported concerns that by 2027, Shahar could control drones over Europe. According to Egorov, such a threat already exists.