The GLONASS system crumbled

For a week the second satellite of the Russian global positioning system failed. Now in orbit there are only 22 operating vehicles with a minimum of 24 satellites.
The second GLONASS-M satellite for a week stopped transmitting the signal, Interfax reported citing a source in the rocket and space industry. The satellite number is 723.

On April 19, the GLONASS-M satellite No. 734 went out of order. Now there are 22 satellites in orbit. For global coverage, 24 devices are required, 18 systems are needed to operate the system on the territory of Russia.

In the summer from the cosmodrome in Plesetsk it is planned to launch a new device to replace the satellite # 734. Will the satellite 723 be replaced, not specified.

According to Kommersant's information, the output of the spacecraft No. 734 from the orbital group was projected, as it was there for 8.5 years with an active life (CAS) of 7 years. Instead, on June 17, a new GLONASS-K satellite will be delivered to orbit from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Another apparatus of the system - No. 723 - was restored in the orbital grouping (10.5 years with CAC 7 years).

Note that today, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the GLONASS system has become self-supporting and will lose state funding.

At the end of 2017, the Ostankino Court of Moscow recognized the leaders of JSC Russian Space Systems (RKS) and the directors of ZAO Mercury as guilty of embezzling almost 400 million rubles allocated for the GLONASS-M spacecraft system.

Rogozin: GLONASS will become self-supporting since 2018
The Vice Prime Minister noted that this "emphasizes the success of the policy of commercializing the capabilities" of Russian orbital systems
TASS, April 25, 2013


Russia will stop the state financing of the joint-stock company GLONASS, the company will switch to self-sufficiency in 2018. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told this to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a working meeting.

"GLONASS, which is the federal operator of this system, is an organization with 100% state participation," he said. "I also want to inform you that from this year we are stopping public funding because this organization has switched to self-sufficiency" .

According to the vice-premier, "this is very important," and "emphasizes the success of the policy of commercializing the opportunities that Russian orbital systems create." Putin, in turn, highly appreciated the received indicators. "Yes, this is a very serious result, and positive, so we need to move on," he said.

Equipping the ports of Crimea

The system of GLONASS in 2018 will be equipped with all the seaports of the Crimea, Rogozin added.

"In Crimea, this year we are completing the complete equipping of all seaports with this system.Remember, you criticized us, said that there is a lag in the line of GPS.Now it is not there, and there will be no backlog," he said.

The Vice-Premier added that the priority measures in this direction were also taken along the Northern Sea Route: 8 791 ships were equipped with GLONASS navigation equipment, including more than 2 thousand ships. "This is one hundred percent equipping all ships and vessels that operate in our water area, 670 aircraft, although of them 113 are foreign," Rogozin said.

In general, talking about the process of introducing GLONASS in the civil economy, Rogozin reported to the head of state that the volume of the market of satellite navigation equipment in Russia in 2015 was 2.4 billion rubles, in 2017 - 15 billion rubles. "That is, this market is growing quite radically.For today, 107 airfields out of 182, 43 sea ports out of 67, and 33 stations on inland waterways are equipped with a system of differential correction," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the GLONASS space group currently operates in its entirety - 24 spacecraft, 23 of which are the previous generation of GLONASS-M, one is the GLONASS-K of the new generation. In addition, another device is in the orbital reserve. "On the ground, we have six vehicles, that is, if necessary, we immediately raise this grouping and supplement it with the necessary quantity," Rogozin added.

He also recalled that from 2019 it is planned to introduce updated satellites of the GLONASS-K2 generation, "higher-precision spacecraft with improved mathematics". All these devices, he said, have a life of seven years, but they can work more. That's why, Rogozin explained, the ground group turned out to be more significant, "because there is no need to change yet."