Article Posted on : - Sep 02, 2010

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia on Thursday successfully put in orbit three GLONASS navigation satellites.

A Proton-M rocket, carrying three GLONASS-M satellites, blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0453 a.m. Moscow time.

The DM-2 upper stage of the rocket completed satellite lofting operations at 0826 a.m., Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

Of the three satellites launched Thursday, two will be operational while the third one will be kept in reserve, according to RIA Novosti. By mid-October, a total of 23 satellites will be operational.

The Global Navigation Satellite System – GLONASS – is an alternative and complementary system to the US’ Global Positioning System, China’s Compass navigation system, and the planned Galileo positioning system of the European Union. The satellite has been designed for both military and civilian purposes.

The system requires 18 satellites for continuous navigation services covering the entire Russian Federation, and 24 satellites to provide worldwide services.

Russia presently has 26 GLONASS satellites in orbit, but two of them are not functional.