Russia To Launch First High-Orbit GLONASS Satellite In 2026 - Chief Designer

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd May, 2022) Russia plans to launch the first of its six high-orbit GLONASS satellites into orbit in 2026, the general designer of the GLONASS system, Sergey Karutin, told Radio Sputnik on Monday.

"We plan to carry out the first launch in 2026," Karutin said.

The chief designer specified that the satellites of the high-orbit segment would fly at an altitude of almost 38,000 kilometers (23,600 miles).

According to Karutin, the new segment will provide navigation in cities where interference may take place due to the reflection of a signal from tall buildings.

In December 2021, the Russian satellite manufacturing company Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev started developing six satellites for the GLONASS high-orbit segment under a new contract with Russian state space agency Roscosmos.

The project is aimed at increasing navigation accuracy, primarily in the Arctic region. Six Glonass satellites were initially scheduled to be launched from 2023 to 2025 but the launch dates were later revised to 2026-2027.

Russia's space-based satellite navigation system GLONASS currently comprises 25 space satellites � 23 of them are operating as intended, two others are temporarily disabled. For the global coverage of the Earth with the navigation system, 24 operating satellites are required.