GLONASS satellite launched

Russia has launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a GLONASS-M satellite.

The Soyuz-2.1b was launched from the Plesetsk Space Centre at 2146 UTC on 16 June (0046 Moscow time on 17 June), according to the Russian Defence Ministry, which added that the satellite had reached its designated orbit.

Russia has also announced that current GLONASS-M satellites, which at this time form the basis of the GLONASS constellation, will remain in operation for at least 8 further years - with a ground reserve of 6 satellites. There will, therefore, be a new version of the Interface Control Document (ICD) released during 2018, claiming to make the system less susceptible to corruption.


Currently there are 24 GLONASS-M satellites in the operational constellation, in 3 orbits inclined at ~65º - about 10º greater than the likes of GPS/Galileo, giving better high-latitude coverage. There are now also 2 -M spares.  There are also a couple of next-generation GLONASS-K satellites in orbit - ultimately, in the 2020s, these will form the next version of GLONASS, using code division multiple access (CDMA), rather than the current frequency division (FDMA), and making all 4 global navigation satellite systems (GNSS - GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and Galileo) ultimately interoperable.


GLONASS was initially intended to become operational in 1995 but, due to lack of funding, was put on hold. However, in the early 2000s it was re-launched and by 2011 the full constellation was re-established.

https://sputniknews.com/science/201806171065481287-russian-military-launch-navy-satellite/