Roscosmos plans to present Starlink competitor project for government's approval in August

Moscow [Russia], July 19 (Sputnik/ ) - The finalized details of Russia's Sfera project, which is intended to rival the OneWeb and Starlink programs, will be submitted for approval to the government in August, the press office of Roscosmos told Sputnik.

The project was launched in 2018 with the objective of providing global internet access through some 600 spacecraft.

"The Sfera subprogram ... revised according to the government's comments has been agreed with all involved federal executive bodies, including the Russian Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Transport and is being approved by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance and will be submitted for approval to the government in August this year," the agency said.

Starlink, a SpaceX program, has had nine launches to date with some 540 satellites placed in orbit to date. The constellation is designed to provide comprehensive communication, navigation and remote Earth sensing services. (Sputnik/ )

( With inputs from ANI )