Putin calls Musk a genius as Russia launches rival satellite network
Moscow says it is coordinating with SpaceX to keep the two orbital systems from interfering, despite a gap of roughly 13,000 satellites.
By Giovanni Serrano ·
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Elon Musk as a "real genius" on Wednesday. He made the comments at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow.
Putin stated that Moscow is in "close" contact with Musk regarding satellite technology. The goal is to ensure the Russian project, Rassvet, and the American system, Starlink, do not interfere with each other in orbit. Putin said both sides value this coordination and are working hard on it despite political differences. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
The two networks differ widely in scale. Starlink has launched about 13,000 satellites. Online trackers show only a couple of dozen Rassvet satellites currently in space. The Russian Embassy in South Africa called Rassvet Russia's first step in the field and confirmed close contacts with Musk.
Musk was born in South Africa and moved to Canada before settling in the United States. His companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, operate primarily from California and Texas. He has been a major political ally and financier of Donald Trump and other Republicans.
The remarks come as Washington and Moscow show signs of warming ties. This shift occurs near the fifth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has relied on Starlink internet to coordinate its defense against Russian forces. Last week, Ukrainian military units experienced sudden connectivity problems. Musk admitted that SpaceX intentionally caused the outage.
Other recent events point to closer relations. Earlier this month, Trump said he struck a deal with Russia to import diesel. The move aimed to lower gas prices that had risen due to the US war with Iran. Following the deal, Trump waived certain sanctions on Russia that were set to take effect. Shortly after, a US citizen was released from Russian custody. US envoy Steve Witkoff called Putin a "humanitarian" regarding the release.
Rassvet is designed to connect users to the web from orbit. The project represents Russia's attempt to build a domestic alternative to Starlink. Current satellite counts show the Russian network remains small compared to the American system.
Source: BBC News
