subscribe
Back to the archive
Share

Issue 78

08 Flash Archive · Members Only

Russia: Next Gen GLONASS PNT Satellite Launched

7 Aug 2023: After numerous delays, Russia launched a Soyuz-2 rocket with the first GLONASS-K2 spacecraft. GLONASS-K2 (Uragan-K2 or Cosmos-2569) promises to improve the accuracy of the Russian dual-use global positioning system. The introduction of the K2 variant was delayed by at least a decade, primarily because of…

Author Greg Gillinger Published July 29, 2025

7 Aug 2023: After numerous delays, Russia launched a Soyuz-2 rocket with the first GLONASS-K2 spacecraft. GLONASS-K2 (Uragan-K2 or Cosmos-2569) promises to improve the accuracy of the Russian dual-use global positioning system. The introduction of the K2 variant was delayed by at least a decade, primarily because of Western sanctions. ISS Reshetnev announced that it had begun testing the GLONASS-K2 in July 2016. Launch Video.

– Cosmos-2569 is cataloged in a 19,133 x 19,156 km orbit with a 64.8° inclination. It is in the same orbital plane as eight other GLONASS satellites.

– There are currently 27 active GLONASS satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

– The satellites are in three planes, each containing nine spacecraft.

– Glonass-K2 satellites are the fourth design iteration for the Glonass navigation system.

– K2 provides navigation accuracy of less than 30 cm, and features an unpressurized satellite bus (Ekspress-1000) manufactured by ISS Reshetnev.

– The satellites are equipped with an advanced thermal control system that uses electrically powered thermal panels and optical thermal coating.

– These features allow for precise temperature maintenance of spacecraft avionics, within a range of 0.1 degrees.

– K2 satellites use a novel navigation signal known as code-protected selection, transmitting three signal types: two in the L1 and L2 ranges for specialized users (military); and one channel in the L1 range accessible to the general public.

– Each satellite weighs 1,645 kg and has an operational lifetime of 10 years.

– A ban on the supply of western electronics to Russia, after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, apparently severely delayed K2 development.

– ISS Reshetnev announced that the completion of the GLONASS-K2’s preliminary design in 2012, and expected to launch in 2013. GLONASS-K2 satellites were supposed to use only indigenously-built components.

– Sanctions forced Russia to find substitutions for avionics, and elements such as gallium arsenide and germanium, used to make solar arrays.

GLONASS-K2 launch infographic

Active GLONASS constellation: 27 satellites in three orbital planes

GLONASS-K2 next-generation navigation satellite