According to the GLONASS satellite manufacturer, the company will now produce nine GLONASS-K1 satellites rather than move to GLONASS-K2, because of the sanctions restricting the delivery of radiation-resistant electronic components from the West.
Nikolai Testoyedov, CEO of Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev, told the Russian magazine Vestnik GLONASS, “For a smooth transition to a multi-functional group and due to issues with the very complex GLONASS-K2 satellites, we decided to continue with the GLONASS-K1 intermediate range of satellites, and we are preparing for the launch of nine units of this series.”
He said the original plan was to launch two K1 satellites and then move to GLONASS-K2 satellites.
“In the beginning, really, we wanted after the two GLONASS-K1 satellites No. 11 and 12, to go for the launch of more advanced GLONASS-K2 devices. But, unfortunately, the plans had to be adjusted somewhat because of the sanctions restricting the delivery of radiation-resistant electronic components from the West. We have to put a hold on the in-depth development of technical and technological documentation and that delays us in terms of moving ahead by at least a year or two,”he said.
According to the December 10 issue of Sibirskii Sputnik (Siberian Satellite), the internal newspaper of ISS Reshetnev, the GLONASS-K1 No. 12 satellite (GLONASS 702K) will be brought into service after a six-month test period and replace an existing GLONASS-M satellite, which will subsequently become a reserve satellite.
In news reported by the Russian magazine Vestnik GLONASS, Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev, the manufacturer of the GLONASS satellites, will now produce nine GLONASS-K1 satellites.
“For a smooth transition to a multi-functional group and due to issues with the very complex GLONASS-K2 satellites, we decided to continue with the GLONASS-K1 intermediate range of satellites and we are preparing for the launch of nine units of this series,” said Nikolai Testoyedov, CEO of Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev.
Testoyedov recalled that the original plan was to launch only two GLONASS-K1 satellites and then move on to the GLONASS-K2 satellites. “In the beginning, really, we wanted after the two GLONASS-K1 satellites No. 11 and 12, to go for the launch of more advanced GLONASS-K2 devices. But, unfortunately, the plans had to be adjusted somewhat because of the sanctions restricting the delivery of radiation-resistant electronic components from the West. We have to put a hold on the in-depth development of technical and technological documentation and that delays us in terms of moving ahead by at least a year or two.”
The second of two GLONASS-K1 satellites was launched from the snowy Plesetsk Cosmodrome on November 30 at 21:52 UTC. It joins the first GLONASS-K1 satellite launched on February 26, 2011.
According to the Roscosmos Information-Analytical Centre, the satellite, with serial number 12, is to be known by its in-orbit name of GLONASS 702. It is destined for orbital slot 9 in Plane 2.
The satellite will transmit five navigation signals in the L1, L2, and L3 bands. The satellite also carries a COSPAS/SARSAT transponder.
The satellite was launched on top of a Soyuz 2-1b booster. A statement from Roscosmos confirmed the 2,060-pound navigation satellite separated from the launcher in the correct orbit.
GLONASS-K satellites are designed to last longer, transmit more navigation signals, and launch on smaller rockets. Like the first Glonass K spacecraft, the second satellite will demonstrate new technologies that Russia plans to incorporate into GLONASS, according to Spaceflight Now.
Rollout:
Launch:
Gallery (photos from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.)
The second GLONASS-K1 satellite on its way to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Photo: CANSPACE Listserv
News courtesy of CANSPACE Listserv.
According to ISS Reshetnev, the manufacturer of GLONASS satellites, the second GLONASS-K1 satellite (serial number 12L) has just been delivered to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. It is now being prepared for launch November 30. The launch date had previously been set as November 20.
Reshetnev made a number of production design changes to this GLONASS satellite, allowing an expansion of the functionality of the satellite and an improvement its performance. The satellite will transmit five navigation signals in three frequency bands: L1, L2, and L3. The satellite is built on the unpressurized Express-1000K platform. The designed lifetime of the satellite is 10 years.
According to RIA Novosti, the launch of Russia’s second GLONASS-K satellite has been delayed until 2013 from its end-of-year launch date, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexey Zolotukhin said on Monday.
“The launch has been postponed due to technical flaws in the Fregat booster made by the Lavochkin space company,” Zolotukhin said. The new date for the launch will be set at a state commission meeting on spacecraft testing after all the flaws have been fixed, Zolotukhin said.
A Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle had previously been scheduled to lift off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia by the end of 2012.
The satellite will be tested in orbit through 2015 before it becomes operational.
Fully Operational System Modernizes for the Multi-GNSS World
Headshot: Vitaly Davydov and Sergey Revnivykh
By Vitaly Davydov and Sergey Revnivykh
Since December 2011, the GLONASS system has been fully operational, providing worldwide service with 100 percent global availability and acceptable accuracy for most users. The system is globally accepted by many users, and most leading manufacturers include GLONASS in their devices.
This fact became a reality due to the successful completion in December 2011 of the Russian Federal Mission Oriented Program dedicated to GLONASS restoration, under the under permanent supervision and control of the President of the Russian Federation and Russian Government, Vladimir Putin.
It may have seemed back in 2002 that very few people outside the GLONASS team believed in the success of the Program, when the constellation was composed of six operational satellites with only a 3-year lifetime. But now the GLONASS constellation consists of 24 modernized operational Glonass-M satellites and in-orbit spares. Further, the new generation GLONASS-K satellite flight tests have begun.
The GLONASS Program obtained significant support in May 2007 when the famous Decree of the President of the Russian Federation was issued. The President made commitments to sustain the GLONASS system and provide its open service free of charge and available for all users worldwide without any restrictions. At the same time, the President charged the Government to prepare and approve the new GLONASS Program for 2020. The new Federal Mission Oriented Program ,designated GLONASS maintenance, development and use for 2012–2020, was approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on March 3, 2012 with a dedicated article in the State Budget Law. That means that the President’s commitments are supported by real financial resources for the next decade, and the situation of the mid-1990s will never occur to GLONASS again.
The new Program has three major tasks:
To keep GLONASS in full operational mode.
To significantly improve GLONASS performance and service quality.
To provide conditions for worldwide use.
The tasks to make GLONASS an integral component of the global GNSS infrastructure, providing worldwide service for all users, are challenging. At the same time, the primary goal of GLONASS as a dual-use system is to serve national security interests.
What the Future Brings
GLONASS development in the near future is foreseen in a few key directions.
Space Segment. Modernization of the GLONASS core, called the Space Complex, undertakes the development of new spacecraft with enhanced performance. This means more stable on-board clocks, new code-division multiple-access (CDMA) signals, and intersatellite link for orbit, clock update, and range measurements. The GLONASS-K satellite will be the new generation spacecraft, applying advanced technologies.
The first-phase GLONASS-K satellite is already passing flight tests, transmitting new CDMA signal in L3 band in addition to the existing set of FDMA signals. The GLONASS-K of the second modernization phase will transmit the full set of new CDMA signals in L1, L2 and L3 bands.
At the same time, all new GLONASS satellites will continue transmitting the existing set of frequency-division multiple-access (FDMA) signals, providing backward compatibility with existing user equipment. Implementation of the CDMA signals in L5 and in L1 (1575.42 MHz) bands is also in line with the Signal Modernization Concept. This task is undergoing study to optimize the power and mass budget of future satellites and to consider benefits for users. Finally, new CDMA signals will provide better accuracy, better protection to interference and better service for users.
GLONASS modernization foresees extending the number of operational satellites in constellation available for users. Presently navigation message enables maximum 24 satellites for users. Activities in order to get more operation satellites available, assumes modernization of the existing FDMA almanac. New almanac of CDMA signals has no limitations.
Ground Segment. Ground-control segment modernization will produce a monitoring-station network extension to provide global coverage, extension of the uplink-station network to provide more frequent updates of orbit and clock, and system clock modernization to make the system time scale more stable and better synchronized with UTC.
The new geodesy reference PZ-90.11 is already coordinated with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) at the centimeter level and shall be introduced soon.
Augmentation. The System for Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM) space-based augmentation system is dedicated to improving navigation services, providing integrity data and better accuracy for users. As a first phase, the service area of SDCM is over the Russian territory. For SBAS signal re-transmission, the three GEO communication satellites of the Luch system are equipped with navigation transponders. The first Luch-5A is already in orbit. The other two are scheduled for launch. Eventually the SDCM system will provide a global navigation service, transmitting precise orbit and clock data to users and introducing precise-point positioning (PPP) technique.
Performance Improvements. The GLONASS modernization plan foresees step-by-step performance improvement of all system components. By 2020, the GLONASS system in stand-alone mode will provide sub-meter accuracy for users with an open signal. Augmented by SBAS, the GLONASS system will provide user positioning accuracy at the decimeter level and better.
In the coming Multi-GNSS world, the GLONASS system must be one of the key components to benefit all users with reliable and accurate navigation, positioning, and timing services. To reach that goal, the international cooperation between system providers with feedback from all group of users is a mandatory condition. All global and regional navigation satellite systems must be compatible and interoperable. The International Committee on GNSS, established according to UN recommendation, plays a significant role for international cooperation aimed at achieving synergy in the navigation environment.
2013 is very important for GLONASS to demonstrate stability with improvement for all users around the world. All the necessary resources to achieve this are available, based on the long-term Federal Mission Oriented Program supported by the President and the Government of the Russian Federation.
Vitaly Davydov is the deputy head of the Federal Space Agency, Coordinator of the Program for GLONASS Sustainment, Development, and Use. He graduated from the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy and from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration with a Master‘s degree in Public and Municipal Administration. From 1997 to 2004 Vitaly Davydov supported the Russian Federation Security Council’s Office. Prior to that from 1975 to 1997 he occupied various positions in Russian Department of Defense’s Space Forces.
Sergey Revnivykh is deputy director general of the Central Research Institute of Machine Building, leading institute of Federal Space Agency, Head of PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Time) Analysis and Information Center. He is a member of the management of the Federal GLONASS Program. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute.
This month there is good news — great news, actually — where GPS and PNT (Position, Navigation and Timing) systems are concerned. On October 22, a Russian Soyuz rocket placed in orbit the first two validation satellites, built by EADS Astrium Germany, in the Galileo PNT constellation after making its maiden launch from Kourou. Don’t confuse these recent satellites with the earlier experimental satellites, GIOVE-A launched in 2005 followed by GIOVE-B launched in 2008. These initial satellites served to preserve the Galileo ITU frequency filings and test the first-ever space borne Hydrogen Maser atomic clock, which by all accounts is proving to be extremely accurate.
The Soyuz launch of two Galileo IOV satellites.
While it is interesting the Europeans decided on a Russian vehicle for the first Galileo dual launch, the U.S. recently pinned its hopes on a European Ariane Five (pictured at right) to launch a commercially hosted U.S. government payload known, appropriately enough, as the “Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload” or CHIRP sensor, which was specifically developed by the U.S. government as a test payload to test both the payload sensor capability and the commercially hosted options for sensor payloads in GEO. The CHIRP sensor features a fixed telescope that can view one quarter of the Earth from geosynchronous orbit. So it appears that hosted payloads and international launch cooperation efforts are growing and are apparently working successfully.
The two newest Galileo satellites deployed four hours after the Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kourou, in French Guiana.
The Soyuz launched the first two of four validation Galileo satellites designed to validate the Galileo concept by testing both space and ground operations. Two additional validation satellites are scheduled to follow in the summer of 2012. Once the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase is completed, an additional 12 satellites will be launched to reach an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of 16 satellites sometime in 2014, and that date looks extremely doubtful.
According to our own Richard Langley, “During initial operations, the [Galileo] satellites will be controlled by a joint ESA and CNES French space agency team in Toulouse, France. Once that week-long phase ends, the satellites will be handed over to the Oberpfaffenhofen Galileo Control Centre near Munich, [Germany], operated by the DLR German Aerospace Center, which will be responsible for routine operations. Operating the satellite payloads to provide navigation services will be the task of the Fucino Control Centre, near Rome, operated by Telespazio.”
Now, does that sound like a confusing and expensive ground support system? Everybody and every country insist on their piece of the pie, regardless of efficiency and continuity of operations. Who knows this might work; only time will tell.
The approximately $7.5 billion Galileo constellation will eventually, hopefully, comprise a retinue of 27 operational satellites with three on orbit spares by 2020.
The PNT business is obviously good for the Russian launch business. Russia successfully launched a GLONASS-K1 test satellite back in February, followed by three GLONASS-M satellites this month into a constellation that finally, after 29 years, accounts for 23 operational and three hopefully soon-to-be operational satellites. The first operational GLONASS-K1 is not scheduled to be launched until sometime early in 2012. GLONASS satellites have historically proven to be fragile affairs with extremely short lifespans; it remains to see how long this number and capability will be maintained. Hopefully the new K1 and M generation GLONASS satellites have resolved many of the longevity issues. Only time will tell when and if the Russian GLONASS will ever regain Full Operational Capability (FOC), which requires 24 simultaneously operating satellites. The Russians were briefly FOC in December 1995, but unfortunately only for a few months. The word “simultaneous” is important as Russian scientisst frequently state they have 25 or 27 GLONASS satellites in orbit, but unfortunately only 22 or 23 of them are operating. But it is possible, miracles still happen, that by the time you read this GLONASS may actually legitimately have achieved FOC once again.
Now on the Boeing IIF side of the house, more good news as it was announced this week that the second IIF satellite (IIF-2), which has been operational with an elevated signal strength for several months, now has its signals back within the specified signal strength and is good to go. GPS IIF-3 was originally scheduled for launch this coming summer, but the latest launch schedules show the launch in September 2012, about 11 months from now. With 30+ operational GPS satellites on orbit plus residuals, hopefully this will be soon enough.
Apple & GLONASS
Always betting on the come, we now know that the late genius Steve Jobs directed his enterprising engineers to include GLONASS PNT software in the latest iPhone 4S; the latest version iPhone that sold 1.3 million units in one day. This effectively gives the iPhone 55 potential satellites to choose from for PNT information as well as the Wi-Fi, cellular tower, and SkyHook Wireless PNT information. With the addition of the GLONASS PNT resources, the iPhone may now well be the most versatile and capable general-purpose PNT platform that exists today. Is that a sad commentary for other GPS and mobile phone providers, a marketing challenge, or merely a positive sign of the technologically advanced times in which we live? It may in fact simply be a true reflection of the capabilities of the most recognized and profitable corporation in the world today. Apple is doing many things right, and one of them is listening to the consumer and giving them more than they expect. Consequently, customers are loyal and Apple Inc. surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization in 2010, and in 2011 became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world. Apple is a company Fortune magazine has named the most admired company in the United States for the last three years running. Apple iPhones and numerous PNT applications are certainly in use by thousands of our warfighters in and out of theater. Interesting, to say the least, plus food for thought and a topic for a future column.
The Bad
The bad news not surprisingly comes via the U.S. government and no, it is not about LightSquared, because that situation continues to be worse than merely bad. No, the bad news comes in the form of a recently released but curiously out-of-date publication concerning GPS by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In late October 2011, the CBO released a publication entitled The Global Positioning System for Military Users: Current Modernization Plans and Alternatives.
I was unfortunate enough to receive both a soft and hard copy; and to make matters worse I don’t own a parakeet. The good news is we do have several fireplaces in our home and winter is rapidly approaching. Truthfully, the report is that bad and out of date, but at least it is boring and long. Fortunately hardly anyone is likely to actually endure the pain and suffering required to read through the entire document. However if you are a masochist and/or suffering from acute insomnia I highly recommend this CBO report as a possible cure. Some of you might justifiably complain I have no business giving medical advice because I am not a medical subject matter expert (SME) and I wholeheartedly agree, just as I agree that the CBO is definitely not a GPS SME and should stay with what they do know. Whatever that is.
I can assure you when and if the military needs advice concerning future GPS operations and options the last place they will or should turn is to the CBO. For example, the preface of the document clearly states, “In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, this study makes no recommendations.” Contrary to what you may think this is actually good news, since now we don’t have to waste valuable time dealing with flawed recommendations; garbage in, garbage out. Now if only the analysis were impartial or objective, which it is decidedly not. I would even settle for accurate, which it is definitely not. The information in this document is in some cases, as in M-Code satellites, erroneous and confusing; it is out-of-date where the GPS III nomenclature and options are concerned, especially the spot-beam; and it is always misleading concerning objectivity that presents facts not in evidence. There is so much erroneous and misleading information in this report that I sincerely hope no one else reads it, especially our military users.
Against my better judgment I am including a link to the CBO document for those of you who practice self-flagellation. I truly regret the number of tree lifespans cut short to produce this confusing, misleading, out-of-date, and totally unnecessary document. Sometime I will tell you how I really feel.
The Really Ugly
The “really ugly,” as you have probably surmised by now, refers to LightSquared and the clueless FCC. Can you believe we have been dealing with this fiasco for more than 12 months? You are probably tired of it all, I know I am, but I see that as a true danger signal. The situation is very clear technically, the LightSquared signals, both from the terrestrial transmitters and receivers, will significantly impair and jam GPS signals to the detriment of all GPS users. Of course the political and business ineptness continues apace so who knows how long we will be dealing with this issue, but we cannot afford to let down our guard. Although this is exactly what LightSquared, the FCC, and the current administration, in an upcoming Presidential election year, obviously hope will happen. They hope we will all just get tired of dealing or even hearing about this LightSquared mess and then they win by default. We all have more important matters demanding our attention, right? Of course we cannot and are not going to allow that to happen. We will continue to use LightSquared as a verb when necessary and keep the real facts front and center, right here in GPS World, until all aspects are resolved. You can count on it.
By Yuri Urlichich, Valery Subbotin, Grigory Stupak, Vyacheslav Dvorkin, Alexander Povalyaev, Sergey Karutin, and Rudolf Bakitko, Russian Space Systems
The GLONASS-K satellite, transmitting a CDMA signal in the L3 band, inaugurates a new era of radionavigation signals for both the Russian system and for international GNSS interoperability. As demand for high-precision services through dual- or triple-frequency user equipment increases, GLONASS will come to the forefront. The 2014 GLONASS-K2 satellite will have an FDMA signal in the L1 and L2 bands and CDMA signals in L1, L2, and L3. The overall constellation update will be completed in 2021. Another 2014 launch will fill the Russian SBAS orbit constellation with three geostationary space vehicles.
GLONASS-M satellite. (Photos courtesy of Roscosmos and Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Company)GLONASS-K satellite. (Photos courtesy of Roscosmos and Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Company).
With the February launch of the first GLONASS-K satellite, and its transmission of a new CDMA signal in the L3 band, a new era of radionavigation signals has begun: international GNSS interoperability. As we have seen rapidly growing demand for high-precision services provided with dual- or triple-frequency user equipment, introduction of new GLONASS signals in the L1 and L2 bands will come next. The first launch of GLONASS-K2 satellite, with FDMA signals in L1 and L2 bands and CDMA signals in L1, L2, and L3, is planned in 2014. A complete update of the full orbiting constellation will conclude in 2021.
One satellite per year of the Luch family will be launched into orbit over the next three years, and by 2014 the System of Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM) constellation will be in operation with three geostationary space vehicles.
Constellation Status. In spite of the unsuccessful launch of three satellites at the end of 2010, currently GLONASS is fully deployed again with 23 satellites set healthy to the user, and more in orbiting reserve. Figure 1 shows the evolution of the constellation since its first launch in 1982. The number of satellites used for service provision is calculated at the end of each year. In order to avoid dramatic situation in 1996–2000, when satellite numbers fell, the system now carries both an on-orbit and a ground reserve of space vehciles. This will help avoid service and availability gaps that could be created by satellite failure.
Figure 1. GLONASS constellation development.
GLONASS-M. The current constellation consists largely of GLONASS-M satellites, the first generation of GLONASS space vehicles, with characteristics of:
FDMA сivil signals in L1 (1.6 GHz) and L2 (1.25 GHz) bands, with increased transmitting power;
intersatellite link both inside one plane and between planes with ranging and communication capabilities;
relative daily frequency stability of the cesium onboard synchronizer of 5 × 10–14;
increased orientation accuracy of solar panels;
guaranteed active lifetime of seven years.
New satellites can be launched into orbit either as a part of multiple launch consisting of three satellites on the launch vehicle Proton with booster Breeze-M from the Baikonur spaceport, or on the launch vehicle Soyuz with Fregat booster from Plesetsk.
GLONASS-M is the last GLONASS satellite with its payload in a sealed container. This container provides the high-temperature stability for the onboard clocks. The GLONASS-M power-supply system includes nickel-hydrogen batteries and silicon solar arrays of 30 square meters, providing 1,400 W for onboard systems.
GLONASS-K. Currently, on-orbit flight tests of the new GLONASS-K satellite (OPENING PHOTO) are under way. The first satellite in the GLONASS-K family, it has a payload located in open space and an active lifespan of 10 years. The forming and transmitting functions of navigation and inter-satellite signals are united in one module in order to increase synchronization accuracy. Besides broadcasting radionavigation signals in three bands, this satellite carries the transponder of the search-and-rescue system COSPAS-SARSAT. The overall weight of the satellite is less than 1,000 kilograms, and about 30 percent of this is the payload weight. The power-supply system generates about two times more energy than the same GLONASS-M system.
At the same time, ground-control facilities modernization and implementation of new inter-satellite measurement technology has enabled system operators to effectively increase the accuracy of broadcast ephemeris and clocks. Currently the signal-in-space range error (SISRE) equals 1.37 m (Figure 2). Further increases in accuracy will be carried out through the modernization of satellite-control technologies and development of a global network of measuring tools.
Since February 2011, GLONASS-K has been transmitting the first CDMA navigation signal in L3 band coherently with existing L1 and L2 signals. This was a first step in a new navigation signal development strategy. Future steps of GLONASS CDMA navigation signal development will focus on L1 and L2 bands. In order to design user-friendly signals, the following assumptions have been taken into account:
GLONASS coherent FDMA and CDMA navigation signal sets should satisfy a wide range of user requirements, from ordinary navigation to high-precision applications;
Signals should be within the bands allocated for GLONASS by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU);
Low spectral density of signal power in radio astronomical band of 1610.6-1613.8 MHz;
Compatibility with other GNSSs;
Interoperability with other GNSSs.
The plans for signal development with GLONASS code division are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. FDMA (in bold type) and CDMA (in slant type) signals in current and future GLONASS satellite generations.
Figures 3–8 show the proposed structures of GLONASS CDMA signals and also the spectrums of these signals in the context of the other GNSS signal spectrums.
Due to the growing use of GNSS signals in L3/L5 band, the future GLONASS navigation family will include two signals in this band. Table 2 contains some parameters of these new signals in this band.
Table 2.
GLONASS Augmentation Development
SDCM development is now entering its deployment and completion phase. The network of reference stations is almost completely established. It enables the global integrity monitoring of radio navigation signals of both GLONASS and GPS satellites, gathering raw measurements of pseudorange and carrier phase in L1, L2, and L3/L5 bands. Based on these measurements, the SDCM central processing facility calculates orbits and clock corrections, and formulates SBAS messages. Preliminary results of SDCM service-quality estimation, based on corrections calculated using existing stations network, are shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10. SDCM horizontal protection Level (HPL) versus horizontal alert limit (HAL). Image updated April 16, 2012.
The last quarter of 2011 will see the launch of space vehicle (SV) Luch-5А, carrying an SDCM transponder. Initially, this SV will be put for testing on geostationary orbit at 55 degrees East, and then will be relocated to 16 degrees West. The onboard transponder will broadcast radio signals on 1575.42 MHz. Taking into account that the main SDCM coverage area is in the northern hemisphere, the SV antenna beam will be deviated from the Equator by 7 degrees to the north.
Due to this deviation of the gain pattern from traditional orientation to the Equator, the Earth surface power distribution diagram is changed. Figure 11 presents two variants. The first one is a case in which the transmission antenna is directed on the Equator (curve 1) and the second one is a case when antenna is deviated by 7 degrees to the north from equator (curve 2). In the latter case, we obtain an increase of signal strength to the users for which this SV is under small elevation angles, that is, for the users in the northern areas of the Russian Federation.
Figure 11. SDCM minimum user-received signal levels: (1) antenna pointing to the equator; (2) antenna deviated by 7º to the north.
Further SDCM development is predicated upon the launch of two Luch satellites, in the first half of 2012 and in 2013, respectively. Also in the plans is the design of a new Luch-4 satellite with dual-frequency navigation transponder, for a 2014 launch, completing the satellite-based augmentation system.
Conclusion
GLONASS system replenishment has almost finished, and the system enters a new historical phase. New CDMA navigation signals and deployment of a national SBAS system will provide not only a significant quality improvement of GLONASS navigation services, but also will create the favorable prerequisite for the development of applied navigation technologies in the territory of the Russian Federation, and also in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.
Yuri Urlichich is a general director-general designer of Joint Stock Company (JSC) Russian Space Systems, GLONASS general designer, doctor of science, professor, author of more than 150 papers and holder of 20 patents.
Valery Subbotin is a first deputy general director–general designer of JSC Russian Space Systems, and doctor of science. He has been working in the space industry for more than 40 years and has published more than 50 papers.GRigory Stupak is a deputy general director–general designer of JSC Russian Space Systems, deputy general designer of GLONASS, and professor at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU). He has worked in the space industry more than 35 years and has published more than 150 papers.
Vyacheslav Dvorkin is a deputy general designer of JSC Russian Space Systems”and doctor of science. He has been developing GLONASS, GNSS augmentations and user equipment for more than 35 years. He has written 50 papers in the satellite navigation field.
Alexander Povalyaev is a deputy head of division in JSC Russian Space Systems and professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute. He has been developing methods and algorithms for GNSS carrier-phase measurements processing for more than 30 years and has more than 40 papers in satellite navigation field.
Sergey Karutin is deputy head of division in JSC Russian Space Systems and assistant professor at the BMSTU. He has a Ph.D. and has been working on the GLONASS team since 1998, developing GNSS augmentations and user equipment.
Rudolf BAKITKO is a department head in JSC Russian Space Systems and a GLONASS navigation payload designer. Rudolf developed on-board equipment for space vehicles Luna, Mars, Venus, GLONASS, and COSPAS-SARSAT, and has more than 50 papers and 10 patents.
According to a Roscosmos report, the state commission governing rocket launches will launch GLONASS-K1 on February 26 at 03:06 UTC. The launch of GLONASS-K1 has been pushed back for “technical reasons.” The original schedule called for a February 24 launch.
Quoting the commander of the Russian Space Forces, Lieutenant-General Oleg Ostapenko, an Interfax news item stated that there was insufficient time to ready the rocket for launch february 25, though it was announced as a launch date following the scrub on February 25. “The probability of a launch on the 26th is very high,” Ostapenko said.
Meanwhile, Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted an unnamed space industry official as saying that if the launch is not held tomorrow, it will be put off for a month. “[The decision will be] once again to be safe, rather than to carry out the launch, which for technical reasons, was postponed for the second day in a row. Without further checks, and to eliminate technical problems, no one [wants to] take responsibility to conduct the launch,” he said.
Gazeta.ru, an online Russian newspaper, has carried a report in which Nikolai Testoedov, the chief designer and CEO of Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev states that seven GLONASS satellites will be launched this year. In addition to GLONASS-K satellites being launched this month and in December, five GLONASS-M satellites will be launched. Three will be launched on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur (this launch is expected in June). He said that, in addition, two GLONASS-M satellites will be launched on the Soyuz-2 rocket from Plesetsk. The first of the five GLONASS-M satellites is to be delivered to the customer on February 28.
