First GLONASS-M Satellite Delivered for Launch

July 28, 2010

News courtesy of CANSPACE LISTSERVE

The first of the three GLONASS-M satellites to be launched on September 2 has arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. GLONASS vehicle No. 37 (to be known as 737 on launch) arrived on a transport plane from Krasnoyarsk on July 26. Ground testing of the satellite is already underway. The other two satellites to be launched (Nos. 36 and 38) will arrive in early August. The scheduled launch time on September 2 is 00:53:43 UTC.

The Proton-M rocket that is scheduled to be used to launch the GLONASS satellites was damaged in a rail incident on the way to Baikonur. The rocket is being examined to see if it is flight-worthy. If it is not, then a reserve rocket, already dispatched to Baikonur, will be used instead.

GLONASS-M (space vehicle 737) arrives at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for launch in September.

The GLONASS satellites are manufactured by Information Satellite Systems - Reshetnev Company (ISS-Reshetnev), located in the city of Zheleznogorsk in Siberia. ISS-Reshtnev is a JSC (Joint Stock Company).

Meanwhile, the foundation of the new building to house the GLONASS Information and Analytical Center has been poured and a special dedication ceremony took place on July 26. The building will also house an IT office and an office of the satellite navigation agency of the United Nations. The building is scheduled to be completed by 2013.