Ukraine set to get its own 'Starlink' satellite constellation with SpaceX starting in 2027 as $1bn project powers on despite CEO death

Ukraine’s Stetman prepares a 360-satellite network with SpaceX launch support New leadership keeps Ukraine’s ambitious satellite project moving forward The billion-euro constellation aims to strengthen Ukraine’s communication independence Ukrainian company Stetman is currently preparing to launch it

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Ukraine’s Stetman prepares a 360-satellite network with SpaceX launch support</strong></li><li><strong>New leadership keeps Ukraine’s ambitious satellite project moving forward</strong></li><li><strong>The billion-euro constellation aims to strengthen Ukraine’s communication independence</strong></li></ul><p>Ukrainian company Stetman is currently preparing to launch its own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, with service set to begin in 2027.</p><p>The company recently lost its founder, Dmytro Stetsenko, but the project is still on course after the appointment of a new CEO, Kateryna Diachenko.</p><p>According to the company, its planned constellation will orbit at an altitude of approximately 550 kilometers, with a test satellite currently scheduled for launch in October 2026 to validate the underlying technology together with SpaceX engineers.</p><h2 id="constellation-with-danish-and-american-partners">Constellation with Danish and American partners</h2><p>Full deployment of the constellation is expected to begin in 2027 and take three full years to complete entirely across the network.</p><p>The finished network will ultimately consist of 360 satellites manufactured by the Danish company GomSpace under an ongoing partnership.</p><p>Stetman has chosen SpaceX to handle the launches, citing the company's lower cost and stronger reliability compared with rivals.</p><p>"SpaceX is the best option, as they are the cheapest and the most reliable," Stetsenko had previously told reporters directly.</p><p>No formal agreement has yet been reached covering delivery of the remaining constellation satellites beyond that initial test satellite launch.</p><p>Ukraine itself would require roughly 150 satellites, according to Andrii Kolesnyk, a former adviser to the head of Ukraine's State Space Agency.</p><p>Diachenko has already met personally with GomSpace representatives to confirm continuity of their joint manufacturing plans going forward into the future.</p><h2 id="a-billion-euro-project">A billion-Euro project</h2><p>The total project cost reportedly exceeds one billion euros, though financing will proceed in several separate stages, a Stetman representative said.</p><p>That budget reportedly covers the satellite constellation itself, software development, launch services, broker fees, and staff salaries across the entire company workforce.</p><p>Manufacturing and launching a single satellite reportedly cost between $2 million and $3 million per unit.</p><p>A single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can carry several dozen satellites into orbit, and each launch typically costs between $60 million and $70 million depending on payload size.</p><p>With a target of 360 satellites, those per-unit costs alone would account for roughly $720 million to over $1 billion of the total budget</p><p>Stetman also plans a joint satellite manufacturing facility inside Ukraine alongside GomSpace, expected to fully open next year if funding arrives on schedule.</p><p>The factory could require several hundred million euros in investment, although details about funding sources remain undisclosed.</p><p>The company currently supplies communication equipment to Ukraine’s military, emergency services, police, medical personnel, and government institutions.</p><p>The company also produces modified communication terminals, including Starmod systems designed for military conditions and UASAT satellite terminals operating through existing satellite networks.</p><p>These products support Ukraine’s broader effort to strengthen communication independence during wartime. </p><p>Via <a href="https://thedefender.media/en/2026/03/stetman-story-plans/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Defender</a></p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>