Putin Praises Musk as Russia Develops Rassvet Network

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk as a “genius” at an exhibition in Moscow on October 28, saying Russia is in close contact with American partners, including Musk, to coordinate satellite operations and avoid interference in orbit. Putin spoke during the Russia-Africa summit as Russian officials presented Rassvet, a satellite-internet network under development. Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev said Russia had launched more than 30 satellites for the project. Putin described the effort as an early step compared with Musk’s Starlink network, which he said had more than 5,000 satellites in orbit. Satellite counts cited in reports vary with the measure and observation time. Estimates for SpaceX’s active Starlink fleet range from roughly 10,000 to 13,000, while other figures refer to satellites launched or in orbit. The accounts agree that Russia’s developing constellation is much smaller. Russian officials have described Rassvet as intended for civilian and military communications. Putin said coordination was important to prevent the systems from interfering with one another. His remarks were attributed to his comments at the exhibition; they did not...