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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 its own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, with service set to begin in 2027.

The company recently lost its founder, Dmytro Stetsenko, but the project is still on course after the appointment of a new CEO, Kateryna Diachenko.

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.

Constellation with Danish and American partners

Full deployment of the constellation is expected to begin in 2027 and take three full years to complete entirely across the network.

The finished network will ultimately consist of 360 satellites manufactured by the Danish company GomSpace under an ongoing partnership.

Stetman has chosen SpaceX to handle the launches, citing the company's lower cost and stronger reliability compared with rivals.

"SpaceX is the best option, as they are the cheapest and the most reliable," Stetsenko had previously told reporters directly.

No formal agreement has yet been reached covering delivery of the remaining constellation satellites beyond that initial test satellite launch.

Ukraine itself would require roughly 150 satellites, according to Andrii Kolesnyk, a former adviser to the head of Ukraine's State Space Agency.

Diachenko has already met personally with GomSpace representatives to confirm continuity of their joint manufacturing plans going forward into the future.

A billion-Euro project

The total project cost reportedly exceeds one billion euros, though financing will proceed in several separate stages, a Stetman representative said.

That budget reportedly covers the satellite constellation itself, software development, launch services, broker fees, and staff salaries across the entire company workforce.

Manufacturing and launching a single satellite reportedly cost between $2 million and $3 million per unit.

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.

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

Stetman also plans a joint satellite manufacturing facility inside Ukraine alongside GomSpace, expected to fully open next year if funding arrives on schedule.

The factory could require several hundred million euros in investment, although details about funding sources remain undisclosed.

The company currently supplies communication equipment to Ukraine’s military, emergency services, police, medical personnel, and government institutions.

The company also produces modified communication terminals, including Starmod systems designed for military conditions and UASAT satellite terminals operating through existing satellite networks.

These products support Ukraine’s broader effort to strengthen communication independence during wartime.

Via The Defender

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Nearly 30 percent of trade-ins carried negative equity in Q2 2026.

Average underwater loan balance reached a record Q2 high of $6,884.

Popular trucks and SUVs are now often trapped by expensive financing.

Remember when choosing a vehicle that held its value was considered a smart financial move? Apparently that’s no longer enough. A new report shows that millions of Americans are trading in vehicles worth less than what they still owe , and the problem continues to grow.

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According to Edmunds’ second-quarter data, 29.6 percent of all trade-ins toward new vehicle purchases carried negative equity. Put another way, nearly three out of every 10 buyers walked into a dealership already owing more on their current vehicle than it was worth.

The Debt Keeps Growing

The amount of debt being rolled into new loans is climbing too. The report says the average underwater trade-in carried $6,884 in negative equity during the second quarter, setting a new record for that period of the year.

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Related: He Owed $87K On A $47K Ford Truck And Still Wanted To Trade In For A Mercedes

Unfortunately, that debt doesn’t simply disappear. It gets folded into the next loan, creating a financial snowball that can follow owners from vehicle to vehicle. The result is some eye-watering payment figures. Edmunds found that buyers carrying negative equity into a new car loan are now paying an average of $944 per month, a whopping $167 more than the industry-wide average.

The long-term cost is even more painful. Those borrowers are expected to pay an average of $16,270 in interest over the life of their loans. That’s nearly $6,500 more than the typical new-vehicle buyer.

Negative Equity Growth, 2019-26

Share of New Vehicles

Purchased With A Trade-In Share of Trade-Ins

With Negative Equity Average Amount Of

Negative Equity Average Trade-In

Age (Years)

2026 46.2% 29.6% -$6,884 4.0

2025 45.7% 26.6% -$6,754 3.8

2024 44.8% 23.9% -$6,255 3.7

2023 46.2% 17.3% -$5,543 3.4

2022 46.8% 14.7% -$4,487 3.2

2021 50.8% 23.1% -$4,246 3.6

2020 45.6% 37.2% -$5,845 3.9

2019 44.6% 34.6% -$5,317 3.8

SWIPE

Source: Edmunds

What’s particularly surprising is that this isn’t just happening to owners of vehicles with weak resale values. The publication says many of the biggest negative-equity trade-ins are popular trucks and SUVs that traditionally retain value well, like the Toyota Tacoma , Jeep Wrangler and Honda CR-V.

“It’s easy to assume negative equity is just a story about vehicles that depreciate quickly,” said Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights. “When historically safe residual value bets are showing up underwater, it’s clear this is a financing problem, not always a vehicle choice problem.”

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A big part of today’s problem can be traced back to 2022, when inventory shortages pushed prices skyward and many buyers paid at or above sticker price. Those vehicles are now reaching the point where owners want to trade them in, only to discover they’re still carrying substantial debt.

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Trade-Ins With Highest Negative Equity, Q2 2026

Model Average Negative Equity

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 -$8,516

Ford F-150 -$8,417

Toyota Camry -$7,030

Ram 1500 -$8,347

Nissan Rogue -$7,260

Honda CR-V -$4,722

Toyota Tacoma -$7,793

Chevrolet Equinox -$5,668

Honda Accord -$5,127

Toyota Corolla -$6,191

GMC Sierra 1500 -$8,568

Honda Civic -$4,778

Ford Explorer -$7,689

Toyota RAV4 -$6,815

Hyundai Tucson -$5,532

Jeep Wrangler -$7,867

Toyota Tundra -$8,929

Kia Sportage -$5,568

Chevrolet Traverse -$6,962

Jeep Grand Cherokee -$7,357

SWIPE

Source: Edmunds

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With Matt Reeves ' iteration of the Dark Knight front-and-center on the big screen, the Batman franchise still has no concrete plans for the character's official introduction into the James Gunn -crafted DC Universe. Fans are, unsurprisingly, on the edge of their seat wondering how Batman will fare in the current cinematic adventures. The character obviously exists, as referenced in Blue Beetle and is briefly seen in Creature Commandos , but we have yet to see him properly introduced in live-action in Gunn's DCU. As we continue to wait, perhaps DC Studios could look to video games for inspiration on how to update the comic book character for the small screen; a game like Batman: Arkham Asylum may prove a worthy foundation.

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Der NATO-Gipfel in Ankara hat der Allianz wichtige Entscheidungen für neue Aufklärungssysteme gebracht. Im Interview mit Gordon Repinski blickt Bundeswehr-General Markus Laubenthal, Chief of Staff im Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, gelassen auf Trumps Grönland-Äußerungen und betont die verstärkte NATO-Präsenz in der Arktis.

Um die USA strategisch zu entlasten, fordert der ranghöchste deutsche NATO-General einen massiven Ausbau der heimischen Rüstungsindustrie. Europa müsse fähig sein, Systeme wie Patriot-Raketen in Lizenz zu produzieren.

Mit Blick auf die Ukraine analysiert Laubenthal die enorm schnelle Anpassungsfähigkeit im modernen Krieg. Die Allianz müsse aus dieser Agilität lernen, besonders beim massenhaften Einsatz von günstigen Drohnen gegen teure Hightech-Abwehrsysteme.

Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig.

Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren.

Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski:

Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski .

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The smartphone market is dominated by two main operating system players — with Apple's iOS leading the charge in the mid-2000s and Google's Android following suit, only maturing relatively recently. But Steve Jobs took the news of Android's launch personally, frustrated and betrayed at its development.

Eating machines

The Apple chief was speaking with Walter Isaacson, his biographer, when he shared his exact feelings about Google's development of Android.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here .

Published very shortly after Jobs' death in October 2011, Steve Jobs was based on several exclusive interviews conducted over two years, alongside conversations with more than 100 people who knew the Apple co-founder.

One of the most spicy exchanges involved Jobs vowing to destroy Google for its work developing Android in secret, while Eric Schmidt was also serving on the Apple board. Schmidt offered to resolve the issues with a settlement, but Jobs took it more than personally.

Energy efficiency

Jobs was apparently angry after learning in January 2010 that HTC had introduced an Android smartphone with many of the same popular features in an iPhone.

Reports from the time the comments were made public suggest the episode reflected Jobs' own perspective on a particular breed of profit-driven executives who only cared about making money.

Although iOS enjoyed a reputation for many years during the 200s of being a better platform in most, if not all, quarters, including its overall design philosophy, Android-powered smartphones were significantly cheaper. In the modern era, the Android OS is incredibly intuitive, with different smartphone makers usually looking to Apple for inspiration in designing features for their own custom flavors.

During his tenure as CEO, Tim Cook also pivoted on this approach, softening Apple's stance and settling many of the ongoing legal disputes, including the long-running battle with Samsung .