President Putin said Moscow is coordinating on low-Earth-orbit satellite
networks with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other U.S. partners despite political
tensions, stressing the need to avoid mutual interference and maintain order in
orbit. Speaking at the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, Putin called Musk a 'true
genius' and said Russia values such cooperation despite "various political
issues." He highlighted Russia's own Starlink-like project, Rassvet, developed
by bureau 1440, which launched 16 production satellites in March and a second
batch in July. The project plans to begin commercial service next year and aims
to deploy over 900 satellites by 2035.
