India's quest for a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system has ended. It will access the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), ending speculation that India was considering being a part of the network, formerly a military system, now open to civilian use. India's search for a GPS system had seen it engage in negotiations with the European project Galileo, but the deal had run into security concerns. Indian negotiators were not satisfied that the information accessible on the proposed system was adequately firewalled against individuals and possible military users. China is also part of Galileo.
According to Andrei Kozlov, the head of the Reshetnev Research and Production Centre in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia plans to supplement its global navigation satellite system with five new satellites this year and three more next year.
The Glonass system currently has 13 satellites in orbit.
President Vladimir Putin ordered in December 2005 that the system should be ready by 2008 and in March this year Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said Glonass would be available to military and civilian purposes by the end of 2007.
The first launch under the Glonass program took place October 12, 1982, but the system was only formally launched September 24, 1993. The satellites currently in use are of two modifications - Glonass and its updated version Glonass-M. Glonass-M has a longer service life of seven years and is equipped with updated antenna feeder systems and an additional navigation frequency for civilian users.
A future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurised platform, standardised to the specifications of the previous models' platform, Express-1000. Glonass-Ks are small spacecraft that are considerably lighter than their previous models, which makes them less costly to put into orbit. Their weight also allows the use of a wider range of carrier rockets. Glonass-Ks' estimated service life has been increased to 10-12 years and a third "civilian" L-range frequency was added. Tests on Glonass-K satellites are scheduled for 2007.
One of Russia's leading space-industry manufacturers will build four new satellites for the country's global navigation satellite system by the end of 2006.
According to Vladimir Bartenev, the deputy chief designer at the Reshetnev Research and Production Center in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, three new Glonass-M satellites would be orbited this year and a fourth in 2007, and there were plans to increase the number of Glonass-M satellites in orbit to six in 2007.
The Glonass system currently has 17 satellites and two laser reflectors in orbit. The first launch under the project took place on October 12, 1982, but the system only officially started to be used on September 24, 1993. Glonass comprises radio navigation satellites that track the whereabouts of clients on land, at sea and in space. The satellites currently in use are of two modifications: Glonass and the updated Glonass-M. The latter satellites have a longer service life of seven years and are equipped with updated antenna feeder systems and an additional navigation frequency for civilian users.
A future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurised platform, standardised to the specifications of the previous models' platform, Express-1000. The Glonass-K is a small spacecraft that is considerably lighter than previous models, which makes it less expensive to put into orbit. Improved weight specifications also mean that more carrier rockets can carry it into orbit. The craft's estimated service life has been extended to 10-12 years and a third "civilian" L-range frequency added.
A Russian Proton-K booster has successfully launched three GLONASS navigation satellites at 05:07 GMT on Sunday. The Proton-K lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and (at 09.09 GMT) placed into orbit the three satellites of the GLONASS satellite navigation system, the Russian version of GPS.
GLONASS satellite
The three satellites included one older model with a three-year operational life and two newer GLONASS-M satellites, which have a longer service life of seven years. Russia is modernising its GLONASS system to bring the satellite constellation back to at least 18 operational satellites by 2007; currently there are 14 spacecraft in orbit.
The launch of the Proton-K rocket carrying three Global Navigation Satellites (Glonass) is scheduled for December 25 at 05:07 GMT. Technicians at the Baikonur space station, which Russia rents from Kazakhstan, have already begun mounting two of the Glonass satellites onto the carrier rocket, while the third one is undergoing inspection.
According to the Federal Space Agency, a Proton-K rocket with the DM-3 acceleration unit and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) spacecraft will be launched December 25 from the Baikonur space centre's 81st pad. The space centre was intensively preparing for the launch of three satellites to replenish the Russian satellite group.
Under the Russian federal space program, the Glonass grouping will be increased to the minimal level of 18 satellites by 2007, thereby making it fully operational. The system currently has 14 satellites in orbit.
Russia will launch three GLONASS (global navigation satellite system) satellites on 25th December, 2005, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
"We are planning a launch of three satellites of the GLONASS system on December 25, which will bring the number of GLONASS units to 17. They are new generation spacecraft with a life cycle of 7 years" - Sergei Ivanov, Russian Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
The group of Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System satellites, which are similar to the United States' Global Position System (GPS) spacecraft, will be replaced by new generation, GLONASS-M, satellites with a seven-year service life and GLONASS-K satellites with a 10-year life. Russia is developing the new generation spacecraft.
"They will be made much more multifunctional. We do not need the old Soviet type of satellites" - Sergei Ivanov.
The satellites will provide information for Russia's military and civilian consumers worldwide and will raise the accuracy of tracking moving and stationary objects.