GLONASS Launch of Three Satellites Successful, Roscosmos Says
September 2, 2010 By: Richard B. Langley
Today's GLONASS launch was successful, according to reports from the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos. Launch occurred at 00:53:50 UTC, and the three satellites were released from the DM-2 upper stage of the launch rocket at 04:26 UTC. According to Roscosmos, by 05:08 UTC all three spacecraft were under control.
The satellites have been injected into orbit plane 2, which currently has only 6 operational satellites including one, GLONASS 722, which is only functional on its L1 frequency. A news report, quoting a Roscosmos source, stated that two of the new satellites will be operational by October 17 with the third becoming a reserve or backup satellite.
For those not familiar with GLONASS, a full constellation consists of 8 satellites in each of three orbit planes. A recent constellation status diagram is shown here.
Below is video of the launch.
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