Russia’s new space agency chief Dmitry Bakanov said Moscow is pressing ahead with plans to build a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation to rival Starlink, the internet service run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“Several test vehicles in orbit have already been inspected and the production ones have been modified accordingly,” Bakanov told Russian television host Vladimir Solovyov. “We are also moving at a rapid pace in this direction.”
Bureau 1440, a Russian aerospace company, is spearheading the development of the broadband satellite system, he said. Bakanov, 39, acknowledged that Roscosmos had to shed outdated practices and attract more young talent to compete effectively.
Starlink currently operates the world’s largest satellite internet constellation with more than 8,000 satellites, providing services in remote regions and conflict zones. It has been heavily used by Ukrainian forces during the war with Russia.
Bakanov admitted that Russia had underestimated Musk in the past. He recalled a 2002 episode when Russian officials dismissed Musk’s bid to buy an intercontinental missile for commercial launches — a rejection that spurred Musk to undercut Russia’s dominance in space transport.
The Soviet Union led the early space race, launching the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 and putting Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961. But Russia’s space ambitions have since faltered, hit by funding shortages, corruption, and setbacks such as the Luna-25 crash during a moon landing attempt in 2023.
Bakanov, previously head of satellite operator Gonets, said the new initiative would mark a reset for Roscosmos.
“We must learn from our mistakes,” he said, adding that Russia aimed to reclaim its position as a leader in global space technology.
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A Romanian worker trapped for hours under the rubble of a partially collapsed medieval tower near the Colosseum in central Rome has died, Italian and ...
A Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has begun a hunger strike, demanding respect for his fund...
Residents of northern Afghanistan began a clean-up operation on Tuesday after a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake left at least 20 dead and almost 1,0...
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Australia will provide households, including renters and those without solar panels, with at least three hours of free solar power daily under a new government scheme starting in 2026.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that Washington would explore "flexibility" for American troops stationed in South Korea to address regional threats while maintaining the alliance’s core focus on deterring North Korea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to boost mutual investment and deepen economic cooperation with Russia, as Moscow faces growing Western sanctions and trade pressure.
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military prison.
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon threatens to worsen the disaster.
On October 21, 2025, an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) Gulfstream G650, call sign 4K-ASG, touched down at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. It was a historic event, commented many.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe the United States is going to war with Venezuela despite growing tensions, though he suggested President Nicolás Maduro’s time in power may be nearing its end.
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, leaving at least 20 people dead, hundreds injured, and causing significant damage to the city’s famed Blue Mosque, authorities said, warning that the death toll was expected to rise.
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military prison.
AnewZ marks its first year on air. From the dust of an empty shell of a new building in the capital of Azerbaijan to a fully functioning newsroom, life began on the 4 November 2024.
Since 8 August, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been making targeted efforts to consolidate progress and deepen dialogue, Armenian National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said at a conference in Brussels.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has announced that Germany will provide Ghana with €65 million (approximately $69 million) in development assistance.
Bella Culley, a pregnant British teenager jailed in Georgia for smuggling marijuana and hashish from Thailand, was freed on Monday (November 3) under a plea agreement.
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