Latest GLONASS Birds Fly into Orbit

September 25, 2008

A Russian Proton rocket carrying three GLONASS satellites successfully lifted off today from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and all three satellites are operating nominally under ground control.

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscomos) reported that the Proton lifted off early today, and that the upper stage of the rocket and the three satellites successfully separated at 8:21 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (4:21 p.m. Moscow time). By 10 a.m. EDT (6 p.m. Moscow time) all three satellites were in orbit and operating under ground control.

Channel One Russia provided coverage of the launch, including video of the launch itself, on its website.

The GLONASS program received a financial shot in the arm earlier this month with the Russian government pledging an additional 67 billion rubles ($2.6 billion) for its GNSS program. At one time the GLONASS constellation had a full complement of 24 satellites, but it fell into disarray following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Roscomos has pledged to have 30 GLONASS satellites in orbit by 2011.

Roscomos plans to launch three more GLONASS satellites this year on December 25. For more on the immediate plans Roscomos has for GLONASS, see GPS World contributing editor Richard Langley's blog from the ION GNSS 2008 conference.