Russia launched three Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) satellites on Tuesday (Dec. 24). One rocket carried a payload of three second-generation satellites that separate from the booster to achieve their separate orbits.
This Soviet project began in 1976 and was initially completed in 1995, but soon fell into disrepair after the fall of the Soviet Union. This launch followed an Oct. 26 launch of three satellites for a total of six satellites launched in 2007.
The restoration project began in 2001 with the Indian government as a partner. There are two more third-generation satellites slated for launch in 2008 for a total of 18 satellites that will provide constant coverage for Indian and Russian territories. The full 24-satellite constellation is scheduled to be complete by 2010.
The GNSS signal complements GPS and Galileo. The signal has been adopted by Magellan, Novatel and Trimble to augment GPS and provide quicker fixes and augmented accuracies.
