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Russia launches rocket with navigation satellites atop |
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09:07, December 26, 2007 |
Russia launched on Tuesday a Proton-M rocket carrying three Glonass navigation satellites to orbit from the Baikonur space center in central Asia's Kazakhstan.
These satellites were expected to net as a worldwide navigation system along with previous and future ones in the space.
There are currently 18 Glonass satellites in orbit to cover most of the Russian territory, including 13 in use, three on maintenance and two about to be phased out, Itar-Tass news agency cited sources with the Central Research Institute for Engineering.
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Monday that 24 Glonass satellites will be operating on the orbit by 2010 to provide worldwide service.
The Glonass system was kicked off in September 1993 for military purpose with a limited orbital cluster of 12 spacecraft.
The system was developed to full complement with 24 satellites two years later but subsequently decreased to 12 due to lack of fund.
Russian President Vladimir Putin required the system to serve for both military and civil purpose in 1999 and to cover the entire territory of the country by the beginning of 2008 and globally in 2009.
The Glonass system are expected to compete with the U.S. Global Position System navigators that has taken most of the navigation market with meters of accuracy for automobiles, ship and even mobile phones.
The European Space Agency has been developing its own navigation system Galileo that will have some 30 satellites on orbit.
Source: Xinhua
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