Putin discusses coordinating Russian satellites and Starlink with Musk
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership
Vladimir Putin says Russia is in talks with Elon Musk about coordinating the Rassvet and Starlink satellite networks to avoid interference in orbit. The Russian president spoke about the contacts on 28 October at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, according to remarks reported by Leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow was in contact with Elon Musk to coordinate Russia’s planned Rassvet satellite network with Starlink, the US company SpaceX’s satellite internet service. He described the discussions as a way to prevent interference between satellites in the two networks, according to Leadership.
Rassvet is intended to become Russia’s alternative to Starlink, but the network is still at an early stage, while Starlink already operates thousands of satellites, according to satellite-tracking data cited by the outlet. The Russian embassy in South Africa acknowledged that the country was only taking its first steps in the sector.
Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk a “real genius” at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow. The comments come as Starlink plays an important role in Ukrainian communications and recent service disruptions for Ukrainian forces have renewed debate about SpaceX’s influence.
The discussions between the two men follow Elon Musk’s concerns about possible Russian retaliation against Starlink satellites, expressed on 27 October. They also come amid a resumption of diplomatic and commercial contacts between Washington and Moscow, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
