– 25 October 2020: Russia launches its 3rd Urugan-K Glonass satellite. The Urugan-K is the third generation of Glonass satellites. (see VIDEO of Urugan-K construction)
– GLONASS is Russia’s global satellite navigation system, and is for military and civilian use. GLONASS was begun in the 1970s, with the first satellite reaching orbit in 1982.
– GLONASS is the abbreviation of Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema – or Global Navigation Satellite System – while individual satellites are named Uragan, meaning Hurricane.
– Each satellite in the GLONASS constellation broadcasts in the L band, with L1, L2, and L3 signals—the exact frequency varies by satellite.
– GLONASS’ L1 & L2 signals are divided into open civilian signals and more precise encrypted military variants. L3 only has a civilian version.
The two previous GLONASS-K satellites were launched in 2011 and 2015, a half-a-decade break had followed due to lack of components for the new-generation spacecraft. The shortage stemmed from the Western sanctions which banned selling dual-use avionics to Russia after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. GLONASS contains 21 satellites in 3 orbital planes, with 3 on-orbit spares. GLONASS provides 100 meters accuracy with its degraded C/A signals and 10-20 meter accuracy with its P (military) signals.
