Russia Puts First Internet Satellites Into Orbit as SpaceX Rival

Russia’s Bureau 1440 space company launched 16 broadband Internet satellites, marking an early operational step in a low-Earth orbit network that Russian officials have cast as a domestic version of SpaceX’s Starlink.

The satellites were launched at 8:24 p.m. on Monday and are now under the direction of the company’s mission control center after reaching their reference orbit, Bureau 1440 said in a Telegram statement.