Russia Adds Three More Satellites to GLONASS, Civilians Assured of Greater Access to Navigation Data

Each GLONASS satellite operates in circular 19100 km orbits at an inclination angle of 64.8 degrees and each satellite completes an orbit in approximately 11 hours 15 minutes.

MOSCOW, December 27/Satnews Daily/ ¾ A Proton-K rocket with three GLONASS navigation satellites onboard was launched from Baikonur at 4:54 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, according to Itar-Tass.
 

According to RSC Energia, the Glonass navigation system satellites were delivered to near-earth orbit by the DM-type Space Upper Stage. The Upper Stage with satellites was launched from low neat-earth orbit where they were injected by the Proton-K launch vehicle the launch of which was performed from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 16:53, Moscow time.

This is a 248-th successful launch for D- and DM-type Space Upper Stages which is the seventh in 2004 and completes the execution of an annual launch plan of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia spacecraft.

The GLONASS cluster made up of eleven functioning and two reserve satellites already has one GLONASS-M in its composition.

According to an Itar-Tass report, the GLONASS cluster will be expanded to 18 satellites by the year 2007 in keeping with Russia’s federal space program. The GLONASS cluster has military and civilian users. It is supplying precise coordinates of air, sea, ground and space-based objects round the clock.

Meanwhile, civilian users of the GLONASS satellite system will be allowed to use its navigational data with a higher degree of accuracy, according to a report by the Russian Information Agency Novosti.

"We have set the issue squarely before the main user - the Defence Ministry - because this navigational system is dual capable. We agreed to meet over the matter with the new chief of staff, Baluyevsky, and I am looking forward to solving this issue," the report said quoting Anatoly Perminov, Roskosmos head.

The Roskosmos head said that the situation when civilian users may get data with an accuracy of down to 30 meters is absurd today. He added it is shameful and disgraceful that in Europe nearly every car has a navigational system, while in Russia, motorists cannot use it, although Russia is the originator of satellite navigation.

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