rassvet satellites: what they are and how this tracker works
rassvet watch is an independent, non-commercial open-source intelligence (OSINT) project. It shows where russia's rassvet satellites are right now and the timeslots when they are over Ukraine or any city you choose. It uses only public data.
Open the live 3D tracker →Project goal
russia uses its rassvet satellites to coordinate drone attacks on Ukraine. The drones fly at 3–5 km, where nothing blocks the sky down to the horizon, so a drone can switch from one satellite to the next with little loss of signal. rassvet watch shows, for any city, the timeslots when these satellites are in view, which is when such coordination is possible.
What is rassvet?
rassvet («рассвет», “dawn”) is a satellite internet constellation in low Earth orbit built by the russian company Bureau 1440 («Бюро 1440»). It is often described as russia's answer to Starlink.
The production satellites appear in the public orbital catalogue as rassvet-3. Both groups launched so far lifted off from the plesetsk cosmodrome in northern russia:
| Launch | Satellites | International designator | Orbit in September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 2026 | 16 | 2026-061 | about 510 km, inclination 82.3°; one satellite has already re-entered the atmosphere |
| 19 July 2026 | 16 | 2026-165 | about 270–300 km, inclination 82.3° |
Source: CelesTrak satellite catalogue. The tracker always uses the latest data, so the globe can show different numbers.
What the tracker shows
- Live positions of every rassvet satellite on a 3D globe, with their orbits.
- A political world map with Ukraine inside its internationally recognised borders, including Crimea.
- How many satellites are over Europe and over the country of your city at this moment; that country is highlighted on the globe.
- The next timeslot over any city: when it starts, when it ends and how high above the horizon the satellites climb.
- A schedule for that city for ±1, 3 or 7 days, past, current and upcoming, with start, end and duration. It lists timeslots, when at least one satellite is in view (passes at nearly the same time are merged, and short gaps can be joined too), or every pass separately.
- A choice of receiver: a drone at 3–5 km, which can use a satellite as soon as it rises above the horizon (0°), or a receiver on the ground, where terrain and buildings hide the sky below about 10°.
- A live feed of satellites entering and leaving that country, and of satellites added to or removed from the catalogue.
- A time control to speed up the simulation up to 600× and watch the next passes happen.
Where the data comes from
- Orbits: public orbital elements (OMM) from CelesTrak, refreshed every two hours.
- Positions: calculated in your browser with the SGP4 model (satellite.js) and drawn with three.js.
- Map: Natural Earth country borders, in the edition that follows Ukraine's position on its borders.
- City search: the Open-Meteo geocoding API (CC BY 4.0), based on GeoNames.
New satellites are picked up automatically once CelesTrak lists them under the rassvet name. Freshly launched objects sometimes carry temporary names for a few days, so they can appear with a short delay.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the rassvet satellites right now?
Open the tracker on the home page. Every satellite that CelesTrak lists as rassvet is drawn on the globe at its current calculated position, together with its orbit. Satellites over the country of the selected city (Ukraine by default) are highlighted in red.
How do I find out when rassvet satellites will be over my city?
Type your city, or coordinates such as 50.45, 30.52, into the field on the left. The tracker shows when the next timeslot starts and ends, and a schedule for ±1, 3 or 7 days on the right. Times are shown in Kyiv time.
What is a timeslot?
A timeslot is a period when at least one rassvet satellite is in view of the selected city. Satellites often pass at nearly the same time, so their passes are merged into one timeslot. You can also join timeslots separated by gaps of up to 2, 5 or 10 minutes, since a drone keeps flying through a short loss of signal. Choose “Passes” to see every satellite separately.
Why is the default receiver a drone at 3–5 km?
russian attack drones fly at 3–5 km, above terrain and buildings, so they can use a satellite as soon as it rises above the horizon. On the ground the sky below about 10° is usually blocked. The difference is large: over Kyiv a drone has a satellite in view for almost twice as long each day. Switch to “Ground · 10°” to compare.
Can I see rassvet satellites with the naked eye?
The tracker shows geometric passes: when a satellite is above the horizon (0° for a drone, 10° for a receiver on the ground). It does not predict whether you can see it, which also depends on whether the satellite is lit by the Sun, how dark it is where you are and how bright the satellite is.
What counts as a pass over Ukraine?
A satellite counts as over Ukraine when the point on the ground directly beneath it is inside Ukraine's internationally recognised borders, including Crimea.
How often is the data updated?
Orbital data is refreshed from CelesTrak every two hours. Satellites that appear in or disappear from the catalogue are added or removed automatically. Positions are recalculated continuously in your browser.
How accurate are the positions?
They are estimates calculated with the standard SGP4 model from public orbital elements. With fresh elements the error is usually a few kilometres; it grows as the elements age and can be larger while a satellite is manoeuvring. Do not use this site for navigation, safety or any operational decisions.
Is rassvet watch an official website?
No. It is an independent project with no connection to Bureau 1440 or any government.
Does the site collect personal data?
There are no accounts, cookies, ads or analytics. Your selected city is stored only in your browser. When you search for a city, the text you type is sent to the Open-Meteo geocoding service. If you send feedback, only the message, the page language and the time are saved, with no IP address. The site is served through Cloudflare, which processes technical request data to protect it from attacks.