An analogue of the American constellation of Starlink satellites is going to be deployed in the Russian Federation. The first experimental spacecraft of the Skif group are planned to be launched in 2025 year. This was stated by the General Director of "Information Satellite Systems" (ISS) Evgeny Nesterov.
Currently, the demonstrator satellite "Skif-D" is in low-Earth orbit.. It was launched in October 2022 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Over the next two years, it is planned to organize the launch of experimental devices "Skif".
After completion of flight testing, experimental work will be carried out on the organization of communication channels, taking into account the influence of the Doppler effect and variable delay- TASS quotes the Director General of ISS Nesterov.
As Nesterov noted, during that time, while the spacecraft is in orbit, will also test the effect of radiation on a satellite in orbit 8000 kilometers.
The ISS emphasized, that the mass of a regular satellite of the Skif system will be more than a ton. In the future, the constellation of satellites will be organized from spacecraft with active phased antenna arrays. This solution will significantly increase the throughput of the system..
The need for such satellites from a military point of view was clearly demonstrated by a special military operation in Ukraine.. Thanks to American satellites, Ukrainian troops receive operational information, provide effective communication.
