Russia is working on a satellite-based connectivity system for its airliners
A Russian company is working on a locally-developed system to provide satellite-based internet connectivity onboard the MC-21, Superjet and Tu-214 airliners, according to reports via Russian media.
The system is being developed by a firm called Bureau 1440 (БЮРО 1440 in Russian). It would rely on a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites (LEO), mimicking the approach of SpaceX Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper and Eutelsat’s OneWeb.
Bureau 1440 – named after the number of orbits completed by the world’s first satellite, the Soviet-made ‘Sputnik 1’ – is a subsidiary of X-Holding (‘ИКС Холдинг’), a Russian private technology group which also has interests in data security and management and electronics manufacturing.
It is not known at which stage of the certification process this system currently stands, or how long it would take for it to be available onboard commercial aircraft. However, it has been reported that United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the government-owned aerospace holding, has already expressed interest in fitting the new system into its three airliner programs, the MC-21, Superjet SJ-100 and Tu-214.
Bureau 1440 plans to launch around 900 satellites by the year 2035, including replacements for any that malfunction. In principle, 292 of these should already be deployed by 2030.
The project is estimated to have an overall cost of some 445 billion rubles (US$5.2 billion / €4.6 billion, approximately), of which 329 billion rubles (US$3.9 / €3.4 billion approx.) are expected to come from private sources, including the developer’s own funds. The rest will be provided by the Russian government, through federal funds and subsidized loans.
A Russian-developed LEO system is seen as a strategic move by the Kremlin, as it aims to assert its technological independence. What’s more, the use of Starlink terminals during the war in Ukraine (including the alleged illegal use of smuggled terminals by Russian forces) has proven the importance of LEO satellite communications for a whole range of military and civilian applications.
The post Russia is working on a satellite-based connectivity system for its airliners appeared first on AeroTime.
A Russian company is working on a locally-developed system to provide satellite-based internet connectivity onboard the MC-21, Superjet…
The post Russia is working on a satellite-based connectivity system for its airliners appeared first on AeroTime.
