Russian GPS finally global
Russia’s global navigation satellite system Glonass is now fully operational and can provide global cover.
The 24th satellite in the system was successfully launched from the Plesetsk space center outside Arkhangelsk and put into orbit in the early hours of Monday, NTV writes.
Russia’s Glonass system is equivalent to the U.S. GPS navigation system and is expected to play an important role in development of Arctic transport.
The Global navigation satellite system Glonass is intended for determining location, speed and exact time by military and civilian users. The system will provide continuous year-round global navigation support globally regardless of weather conditions.
The first Glonass test flight took place in October 1982, and by 1993 the system was brought into operational testing. In 1995 the full orbit group of 24 satellites was formed. However, a reduction in funding in 1990 for Russia’s space industry led to a deterioration of the Glonass project.
