Russia will have to update its communications satellite constellation: the active service life of some Express satellites expires in 2029–2030, and sanctions complicate the production of replacements. It is planned to allocate 53.6 billion rubles from the budget for the creation of new geostationary satellites until 2029. Currently, eight devices are being assembled, three of which should begin operation in 2029, and another five in 2030.
Image source: Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Space Communications”
One device will be built entirely at the expense of extra-budgetary funds, another one will be built according to a mixed scheme (at the expense of the budgetary and own funds of the State Enterprise KS), they reported “To Kommersant” to the Ministry of Digital Development. The commissioning of three spacecraft is scheduled for 2029, and the launch of five more will take place in 2030.
The ministry also noted that the funds allocated from the federal budget and the financial capabilities of the RSCC are sufficient to implement the plans. The RSCC added that the launch of the devices will be provided by Roscosmos.
The orbital constellation of 12 geostationary spacecraft, which is managed by the State Space Station, is the largest in Russia. It is used for television and radio broadcasting, data transmission, access to broadband Internet and communications on marine vessels. The coverage area covers the territories of Russia, the CIS, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas and Australia. In 2025, 1.1 thousand channels were broadcast through Express satellites.
Due to sanctions, foreign payloads for satellites have become unavailable, and Russia must rely on its own production. Creating a payload from scratch can significantly increase the cost and production time of satellites, noted Vladimir Trunov, director of government affairs at Tricolor. According to experts, taking into account current restrictions, the construction of one device may take up to 6–7 years, whereas before 2022 this process took 4–5 years.
The presence of a national satellite constellation of domestic production with control channels on the Russian side is a matter of sovereignty, a source in the space market told Kommersant.
“It is critically important for Russia to have its own reserve aircraft, which, if the main one fails, will be able to quickly take its position.”says Trunov. He noted that not a single operator is able to independently cover the costs of creating such a reserve – tens of billions of rubles, which would have to be withdrawn from business turnover at a time. “That is why state support in financing such a project is urgently needed”“, the expert emphasized. He added that in addition to the 12–14 billion rubles needed to create the satellite, approximately the same amount will be required for its launch and insurance.
In addition, the number of available positions and frequencies in geostationary orbit is limited, so a delay in the launch of the device threatens the loss of rights to the orbital frequency resource, said Georgy Korolev, project director at ATK Consulting.
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