UN Seminar on SatNav Explored Sharing, Education

A United Nations workshop held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 18-22 focused on sharing GNSS in various countries, as well as training in GNSS technologies.

The five-day workshop, organized jointly by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), sought to address the use of GNSS for various applications that can provide sustainable social and economic benefits, in particular for developing countries.

Titled “The use of global navigation satellite systems, GNSS/GLONASS,” the meeting was hosted by the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Joint Stock Company. This is the first time the workshop was held in Russia.

A key topic of discussion was the sharing of GNSS in different countries, according to the Reshetnev website. Particular attention was paid to training in the use of satellite navigation, with the most important outcome a proposal to create, under the auspices of the Reshetnev company, an international education center in the use of satellite navigation. The center will cooperate with the UN office in Vienna, as well as regional centers in Morocco, Nigeria, India, Brazil and China.

The seminar was held in nine sections. The sections considered topics such as the formation and development of GNSS, GNSS infrastructure, and national projects on the use of satellite navigation. Representatives from more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and Latin America shared their experiences implementing GNSS services and spoke about the real and projected benefits of using these technologies for social and economic development.

During the seminar, participants visited the MFReshetnev satellite production company responsible for the space segment of GLONASS in Russia. Guests were shown current and future GLONASS-M and GLONASS-K satellites, as well as learned about the latest developments for GLONASS.

UN representative Sharafat Gadimova summarizes the workshop. (Photo: Reshetnev)

Participants discuss the uses of satellite navigation. (Photo: Reshetnev)