Roscosmos unveils a new AT-Gonets modem, successfully sending bytes before the satellites rust

During recent tests, the AT-Gonets (URM-D2) modem managed to transmit data packets ranging from 10 bytes to 20 kilobytes. These transmissions were handled by the Roscosmos subsidiary Satellite System Gonets and the private entity Steccom without a single drop, proving that even legacy-adjacent hardware can occasionally hit the send button correctly. The device was even power-cycled mid-operation, and it impressively held onto its data rather than suffering a nervous breakdown.

Compared to its bulky predecessor, this iteration is six times smaller, making it slightly easier to hide inside industrial machinery that actually needs to talk to the outside world. The goal is to provide connectivity in the vast, empty reaches of the map where cellular towers don't dare to tread. Roscosmos plans to scale this into mass production, aiming to cover logistics and remote industrial sites with a web of satellite-based signals.

It is genuinely charming how an agency that usually deals in multi-ton rockets finds such immense joy in successfully sending a 20-kilobyte email. While the rest of the world is busy chasing global satellite constellations that provide actual high-speed internet, this move feels like a bold step into the year 2005. One can only hope the mass production lines are as reliable as the modem's memory.