The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) successfully launched a Proton-M rocket and three GLONASS-M satellites at 10:53 a.m. (GMT) on December 25 from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft were placed into orbital plane 1 on the GLONASS constellation, where they will occupy slots 2, 3, and 8, according to the Roscosmos Information-Analytical Center. Built by Reshetnev Informational Satellite Systems, the modernized GLONASS space vehicles will join 17 operational satellites now in orbit. Newly launched GLONASS satellites are usually brought online within a month or so.
Changes in the GLONASS program this year mean that the full constellation in the future will have 30 satellites rather than 24, with each of three orbital planes will hosting eight nominal and two backup satellites.
The current GLONASS constellation provides 95 percent coverage of Russia territory and 83 percent global coverage, according to Roscosmos and Reshtenev, with each launch improving these values.
In 2007, Reshetnev doubled its production of GLONASS satellites, accomplished in part through introduction of computer-aided acquisition and logistics support technologies and 3-D computer design systems, representatives of the public company said.
By 2010, Russia will launch the first of its GLONASS-K series satellites, with four of these being checked out on orbit over the following two years. A new unpressurized design ensuring operation of the spacecraft systems in an outer space environment is expected to improve satellite survivability while reducing the size and weight of the SVs.
The smaller, lighter design will enable Roscosmos to launch two GLONASS-K satellites at a time on Soyuz-2 rockets rather than Protons, reducing the launch costs by half, according to Roscosmos.
Showing posts with label glonass news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glonass news. Show all posts
20081213
Glonass News- Vesti
GLONASS GNSS-literally Российской Федерации. Русский акроним стоит для GLObal' naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, или глобальная система спутниковой навигации.
Для модулей GPS/Glonass для применений для вокруг мира, посещение www.glonasscentral.com
Для модулей GPS/Glonass для применений для вокруг мира, посещение www.glonasscentral.com
20081127
Glonass News
The latest trio of modernized GLONASS satellites (GLONASS-M) have begun transmitting healthy navigation messages, bringing the total of operational satellites to 17 — a milestone for the Russian GNSS constellation.
The third GLONASS-M space vehicle (SV) — SVN 726 launched September 25 began transmitting a healthy navigation message on November 13, giving the rebuilt GLONASS constellation the highest number in more than a decade. GLONASS SVN 110 (724) began transmitting on October 26, and SVN 111 (725), on November 5, according to the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) GLONASS Information-Analytical Center.
Although GLONASS had a full constellation of 21 operational satellites in 1996, by the beginning of 1998 only 16 SVs were still transmitting as the system went without launches for three years after December 1995. The short lifespan of the first-generation satellites coupled with the economic decline that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union made the long-term prospects of the world’s second GNSS appear very doubtful.
Triple-SV launches in 1998 and 2000 could not stem the dwindling constellation and by the end of 2001 only seven spacecraft operating on orbit. A decision earlier that year by then-President Vladimir Putin began a program to rebuild and modernize GLONASS.
Another triple GLONASS launch is scheduled for December 25 this year.
From December 18, GLONASS will help pilots to land aircraft at Koltsovo airport, Ekaterinburg. According to an ITAR-TASS news agency report on the Roscosmos website, the airport will initiate a new procedure for landing aircraft equipped with GLONASS/GPS receivers — the third airport in Russia (after Domodedovo and Kurumoch) ordered by the Russian Civil Aviation Agency to fulfil this requirement
The third GLONASS-M space vehicle (SV) — SVN 726 launched September 25 began transmitting a healthy navigation message on November 13, giving the rebuilt GLONASS constellation the highest number in more than a decade. GLONASS SVN 110 (724) began transmitting on October 26, and SVN 111 (725), on November 5, according to the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) GLONASS Information-Analytical Center.
Although GLONASS had a full constellation of 21 operational satellites in 1996, by the beginning of 1998 only 16 SVs were still transmitting as the system went without launches for three years after December 1995. The short lifespan of the first-generation satellites coupled with the economic decline that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union made the long-term prospects of the world’s second GNSS appear very doubtful.
Triple-SV launches in 1998 and 2000 could not stem the dwindling constellation and by the end of 2001 only seven spacecraft operating on orbit. A decision earlier that year by then-President Vladimir Putin began a program to rebuild and modernize GLONASS.
Another triple GLONASS launch is scheduled for December 25 this year.
From December 18, GLONASS will help pilots to land aircraft at Koltsovo airport, Ekaterinburg. According to an ITAR-TASS news agency report on the Roscosmos website, the airport will initiate a new procedure for landing aircraft equipped with GLONASS/GPS receivers — the third airport in Russia (after Domodedovo and Kurumoch) ordered by the Russian Civil Aviation Agency to fulfil this requirement
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