| Sam Wormley 2008-01-04, 12:33 pm |
| New Glonass Satellites Due To Operate For Seven Years
http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/ Ne..._Years_999.html
A fully operational Glonass constellation will consist of 24
Glonass-M and Glonass-K satellites by 2010, with 21 used for
transmitting signals and three for on-orbit spares, deployed in three
orbital planes.
by Staff Writers
Krasnoyarsk (RIA Novosti) Dec 28, 2007
The three Glonass-M navigation satellites that Russia launched on
Tuesday will be operational for seven years, a design and production
bureau spokesman said on Wednesday. The three satellites were
launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on board an
improved Proton-M carrier rocket to join the existing satellite
constellation, which comprises 15 operational satellites.
"The equipment of each of the satellites has a seven-year active
lifetime," a spokesman from the Applied Mechanics Scientific
Production Association said.
Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the Russian
equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is
designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to
identify their positions in real time.
The spokesman said the navigation accuracy properties of the three
new satellites were much better than those possessed by the system's
first satellites.
A fully operational Glonass constellation will consist of 24
Glonass-M and Glonass-K satellites by 2010, with 21 used for
transmitting signals and three for on-orbit spares, deployed in three
orbital planes.
A total of 9.88 billion rubles ($380 million) was allocated for
Glonass from the federal budget in 2007, and 4.7 billion ($181
million) in 2006.
Sergei Ivanov, Russia's first deputy prime minister, said on Monday
that with the addition of three satellites the Glonass system would
consist of 18 satellites and would be capable of providing navigation
and positioning data covering the whole territory of the Russian
Federation.
Another six satellites will be added to the Glonass system in 2008,
and the first two improved Glonass-K satellites are set to be
launched in 2009.
The future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on
a non-pressurized platform, standardized to the specifications of the
previous models' platform, Express-1000.
Source: RIA Novosti News Agency
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