Friday, November 21, 2008

GLONASS

IOC: Tuesday, October 12, 1982
Total Production: 27
Total Program's Cost: RUB10.0 billion

GLONASS-M

IOC: Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Production: 24

Origin
Russia

Family Members
GLONASS

Description: GLONASS (GLObal NAvigazion Satellite System) is a multi-channel navigation satellite network developed by the former Soviet Union beginning in 1976 to provide accurate geo-location and airspeed data to its strategic bombers and cruise missiles as well as target positioning for its ballistic missiles. Following the Soviet Union collapse the whole project was put on hold. In 2001 the Russian Federal government re-launched the GLONASS project with the goal to get the whole system fully deployed by 2010. The GLONASS global navigation system consists of 24 orbiting satellites of which 21 providing geo-location signals throughout the world and the remaining three spacecraft used as on-orbit spares.

Following a circular orbit at 19,100 km of altitude (25,470 km from Earth's core) with an inclination of 64.8-degree, each spacecraft has an orbital period of approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes. Each spacecraft also has a latitude inclination of 15-degree which translates into the satellites crossing the equator one at a time (24x15=360/full coverage). Using this arrangement, at least five GLONASS satellites and their positioning signals are available at any given place and time on Earth. GLONASS satellites are distributed into three orbital planes with eight spacecrafts per plane. Each satellite passes over the same place every eight sidereal days, but with each orbital plane containing eight satellites the next satellite will pass over the same place in a sidereal day.

GLONASS-M satellites are the second generation of GLObal NAvigazion Satellite System (GLONASS). The program was launched in 2001 by the Russian government with the goal to get a 24-satellite constellation on-station by 2010. The Indian government joined the program as a partner. In early September 2006 the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Ivanov, confirmed its country commitment to get the GLONASS-M fully deployed by 2010. The three first GLONASS-M spacecrafts were put into an orbit of 19,140 km of altitude on December 25, 2007. Global coverage of the new constellation is anticipated by 2009. The new navigation constellation will serve to the next-generation weapons such as Russian-made Kh-555 cruise missile and satellite-guided bombs. GLONASS-M has a service life of seven years and provides an horizontal positioning accuracy of 57-to-70 meters, vertical positioning accuracy of 70 meters and speed accuracy of 0.54 kph (15cm/s) with a signal time transfer of 1 micro-second (0.000001 second).

Specifications
Performance: CEP 70 m (230 ft), Orbit 19,140 km (10,335 nm), Orbital Period 11 hours 12 min, Service Life 7 yr

Operators

see operators map | see family operators map

India

Russia / 24

Spacecraft

GLONASS-M 1

Launch Vehicle: Undisclosed - Space Launch Systems
Launch Site: Undisclosed Site
Launch Date: Tuesday, December 25, 2007

GLONASS-M 2

Launch Vehicle: Undisclosed - Space Launch Systems
Launch Site: Undisclosed Site
Launch Date: Tuesday, December 25, 2007

GLONASS-M 3

Launch Vehicle: Undisclosed - Space Launch Systems
Launch Site: Undisclosed Site
Launch Date: Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Notes
(*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd) Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)

Last Updated: Saturday, October 25, 2008

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