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The second batch of "Russian Starlink" satellites launches Multiple spacecraft developed at Moscow-based Buro 1440 (INSIDER CONTENT) rode into orbit on a Soyuz-2 rocket from the Plesetsk launch site. It was presumed to be a 16-satellite cluster of near-operational Rassvet satellites (INSIDER CONTENT), following their first mission on March 23.
Second Buro 1440 batch launch at a glance:
At the time of the first Rassvet launch, the second mission was rumored to be targeted for as early as April 2026. The navigational warnings for air and sea traffic, matching the March 2026 mission, appeared around July 10, 2026. As before, the navigation warnings declared unusually long (24-hour) windows, likely designed to complicate the prediction of the exact launch time and the fueling period during the launch campaign to minimize threat from Ukrainian air strikes. Likely for the same purpose, the Russian government issued multiple other warnings with partially overlapping time windows in July 2026, which could be associated with as many as four different launches. According to Bart Hendrickx, they matched ascent trajectories for Soyuz rockets to orbits inclined 63, 82 and 97-98 degrees, as well as a suborbital launch of the Yars ICBM. The second Rassvet launch was expected to bring the total number of operational satellites in orbit to 31, taking into account one spacecraft from the first batch that had since reentered. On July 20, 2026, Buro 1440 issued a statement on the Russian-banned Telegram web site about the successful launch of its second spacecraft batch. According to the announcement, the satellites successfully separated from the launch vehicle and established communications with the company's mission control. "After completion of checks and the operational activation of sub-systems, the satellites will begin transfer to a target orbit for providing communications services," the announcement said. It did not contain the launch time or the official designations of the satellites. Roskosmos and the Ministry of Defense have not made any announcements of the launch either, as of July 21, 2026.  Launch scenario To deliver Rassvet satellites from Plesetsk, a Soyuz-2 rocket turns northeast seconds after a vertical liftoff and then heads roughly along the ascent corridor previously used to deliver Kobalt-M satellites. Around two minutes into the flight, the vehicle drops the four boosters of the first stage, which are projected to impact the ground near the town of Koida in the Menzensk District of the Arkhanegelsk Region, on the shore of the Barents Sea.
Seconds later, it is followed by the separation of the payload fairing, whose two sections fall in the Barents Sea, off the coast of Kanin Peninsula. Around five minutes into the flight, the second stage completes its work and separates on a ballistic trajectory impacting the Arctic Ocean, north of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The third stage completes 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 are expected to separate from the upper stage in short intervals and use their own propulsion systems to evenly spread along the orbital plane intended for the constellation.
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