Will we get our own Starlink? Here's what we know so far

Starlink is a network of low-orbit satellites consisting of more than 10,000 objects. This is the largest grouping orbiting the Earth. Every second of all artificial satellites on our planet is an Elon Musk device.

What is the problem with deploying something like this, but only over the territory of Ukraine? The fact is that good-quality internet connectivity is not provided by geostationary television satellites that “hang in one place,” but by small low-orbit satellites that orbit our Earth at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per hour. Each of them takes about 90-95 minutes to return to the same point and complete the circle.

Starlink flies over Ukraine in 3-4 minutes and covers an area of ​​up to 457 square km at a time. So, in order for at least one of the satellites of the flotilla to be constantly in the zone of interaction with ground stations in our country, quite a lot of such objects are needed.

The last satellite that Ukraine launched into space in January 2022 was Sich 2−30, developed by designers in Dnipro. Its mission was not to provide internet from orbit, but to provide satellite imagery. However, three years later, the satellite was lost. It burned up.

Before the war, Ukraine had a plan to launch 7 such Earth remote sensing satellites over 5 years. But, unfortunately, these plans did not come true.

Neither the State Space Agency nor Ukrkosmos have announced any new plans to launch a new flotilla of low-orbit satellites.

But there was some information about private initiatives. Just in October 2026, the Stetman company was supposed to launch its first low-orbit satellite as part of the UASAT LEO program.

"The first Ukrainian sovereign satellite network based on the LEO constellation (i.e. low-orbit — Ed.) provides stable, continuous and secure communications for defense and civilian needs," the UASAT website states.

The specified plan is 245 LEO satellites. Production is in-house.

Let’s compare that to Musk’s fleet. The cost of producing a single Starlink satellite is estimated to be between $250,000 and $500,000. However, when you factor in additional costs — such as R&D, ground infrastructure, and launch services — the total cost is closer to $1 million per satellite.

Accordingly, the Ukrainian project could cost $245 million. Although Stetman provided other figures — the total cost of the satellite group, software, launches, and maintenance exceeds 1 billion euros.

In December 2025, Ukraine submitted an application to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for registration of the new UASAT-NANO satellite network. On February 17, 2026, the network appeared in the official publication BR IFIC Space.

However, in June 2026, the company suffered a loss: its founder and CEO Dmytro Stetsenko, who had headed the company since 2023, died. Kateryna Dyachenko became the new head of Stetman. The team confirmed its intention to fully implement all the plans laid down by the founder.

The latest news about the company is from July 2026. As reported, during one of the first meetings in her new position, Kateryna Dyachenko met with Jesper Staal Hein, director of special defense projects at the Danish company GomSpace .

The parties confirmed the continuity of Stetman’s activities, the preservation of the partnership within the UASAT joint venture, and joint plans for the deployment of a satellite group and the construction of a factory in Ukraine. The first batch of 120 satellites is planned to be launched in 2027 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Full deployment of the network should be completed by 2030.

Maybe this is the project we’re talking about now. We’ll see.