Russia launched 16 satellites into low Earth orbit on Tuesday. This move aims to create a system that can rival Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network. Russia is still far behind Starlink, which has grown a lot since 2019. Starlink now has over 10,000 satellites.
A Russian company called "1440" is developing this new system. The company focuses on low Earth orbit satellites for global internet data. They launched the first 16 satellites on Monday. This launch marks a step from testing to creating a real communication service.
The Soviet Union was a leader in the early space race. They launched Sputnik 1 in 1957. Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Russia's space program faced money problems. Young engineers also complained about bad management.
In 2002, Russian officials did not take Elon Musk seriously. This rejection pushed Musk to find ways to lower space launch costs. This led to his work on SpaceX and Starlink.