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New Russian Rocket Launch May Support “Rassvet” Network or Military Reconnaissance
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Russia launched a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region on September 17 with a classified payload, defense outlet Militarnyi reported on September 18, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that stable telemetry was established and onboard systems are functioning normally, though officials declined to disclose the name, quantity, technical specifications, or purpose of the spacecraft.
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Citing tracking platform Next Spaceflight, Militarnyi noted that the mission utilized a Fregat-M upper stage. The payload is officially listed as a classified military satellite or part of the “Kosmos” series, though analysts suggest the launch could be tied to the ongoing expansion of Russia’s low-Earth orbit communications system, “Rassvet.”
Russia began deploying the “Rassvet” network—developed by the company Bureau 1440—in March 2026, using the exact same Soyuz-2.1b rocket and Plesetsk launch site to put 16 satellites into orbit. A second batch followed in July. According to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Moscow plans to scale the constellation to 292 satellites by the end of 2027 and up to 924 spacecraft by 2035.
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Given the mission’s strict secrecy, the payload may also consist of military hardware, continuing a pattern of covert space deployments this year. On February 5, a Soyuz-2.1b delivered nine objects into orbit—later designated “Kosmos-2600” through “Kosmos-2608"—whose trajectories indicated a reconnaissance function, Militarnyi wrote.
In April, the US Space Force tracked three additional Russian military satellites placed into polar orbits.
The Soyuz-2 rocket family is serially manufactured at the Progress Rocket Space Centre in the city of Samara. Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles have previously struck the facility. Subsequent satellite imagery revealed significant damage to Workshop 106A, the production hall where onboard electronics, guidance systems, and instrument compartments for the Soyuz-2 rockets are assembled.
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