Overview
Russia, as the successor to the Soviet Union's space programme, has a deep spaceflight heritage but a relatively small modern satellite fleet compared to the US and China. Launch activity has been relatively flat at ~17 per year, and the fleet consists primarily of government and military assets. Russia does not yet operate a large commercial satellite constellation: its first, Bureau 1440's Rassvet satellite internet network, began deploying in 2026 and now has 30 satellites in orbit, 26 of them in their working orbit.
Key Programmes
GLONASS: Russia's global navigation satellite system, with ~24 operational satellites at ~19,100 km altitude. GLONASS provides an independent positioning alternative used alongside GPS in most modern receivers.
Rassvet: Bureau 1440's satellite internet constellation in low Earth orbit, deployed in batches of 16 since March 2026, with 30 production satellites in orbit and 26 in their working orbit of about 509 km. Follow every satellite on the Rassvet tracker.
Military: Approximately 110 military satellites covering missile early warning (EKS/Tundra), signals intelligence (Lotos-S), optical reconnaissance (Persona, Bars-M), and secure communications. Their orbit changes and close approaches, including inspector satellites that shadow other spacecraft, appear on the live Satellite Maneuver Tracker.
ISS Partnership: Russia operates the Russian Orbital Segment of the ISS, including the Zarya and Zvezda modules, and provides crew transportation via Soyuz spacecraft and cargo delivery via Progress.
Launch Capability
Roscosmos operates Soyuz-2 (the workhorse launcher), Angara (next-generation heavy-lift), and Proton (legacy heavy-lift, being retired). Russia launched approximately 17 orbital missions in 2025 from Baikonur (Kazakhstan), Plesetsk (northern Russia), and the Vostochny Cosmodrome. See the Launch Log for details.
Debris Legacy
Russia is responsible for a significant fraction of orbital debris, both from decades of Soviet-era launches and from the 2021 Kosmos 1408 ASAT test which created 1,500+ trackable fragments. Many Soviet-era rocket bodies remain in orbit as uncontrolled debris, contributing to Kessler Syndrome risk. See Space Debris Statistics for the full breakdown.