Posted on 12/09/2004 7:16:43 AM PST by jb6
KRASNOYARSK, December 4 (Itar-Tass) -- The global navigation system GLONASS is presented at the third Siberian international aerospace show SAKS-2004 here on Saturday. The Zheleznogorsk-based Reshetnev applied mechanics scientific and production plant that upgrades the global navigation system will present GLONASS. Two new satellites Glonass-M and Glonass-K are being created at the plant.
“These satellites of the new generation provide navigation information for the unlimited number of people in any part of the world and on the orbit,” designer general of the enterprise Albert Kozlov said. Their service life will be doubled to seven years, and their accuracy will also be increased, Kozlov emphasised.
He noted that though the programme for the production of GLONASS ground equipment is worked out in Russia, their production is not commercial. Investments, involvement of industrial enterprises and applications for equipping transport vehicles are needed for the commercial production of apparatuses, Kozlov pointed out.
The Krasnoyarsk plant Krasmash that takes part in the aerospace show SAKS-2004 is also involved in the creation of the navigation system GLONASS. The plant produces upper stage rockets for boosters of GLONASS satellites. An upper stage rocket produced at the Krasnoyarsk plant will be installed on the booster Proton-K that put on orbit another satellite in December this year. Eighteen Russian satellites of the navigation system GLONASS will be put on orbit by 2007.
The Zheleznogorsk-based applied mechanics scientific and production plant is one of the leading Russian companies in the development and production of space communications, television broadcasting, navigation and geodesy systems. Seventy-five percent of all Russian satellites are produced at the plant.
With the EU version of GPS also coming on line soon, its going to get crowded up there in low earth orbit.
GLONASS has been around for a long time. It may have even preceded GPS.
All up at MEO, actually. GPS orbits at ~20,200 km altitude.
GLONASS has actually been flying for a long time. The satellites tended to die pretty quickly. The Russians ended up running out of money about 6 years ago, and thus couldn't maintain their constellation by launching replacements.
GLONASS performance wasn't as good as GPS, but not all that bad.
Sounds like they may be gearing up to replenish and start again.
Why is the EU putting up GPS at all? They like wasting money on triple redundancy?
GLONASS has been a decrepit version of GPS for 20+ years. It would be interesting if the Russians decided that the system had some real commercial value, since they'd be going head to head with the EU's Galileo.
I'm curious, is each device going to be calibrated to only one system's specific signals or will it beable to use all of them. Because, speaking from experience, depending on which shiete hole you are deployed to, getting a signal can be near impossible.
True. I remember hearing rumbles about it back in the early 80s.
Here's a good source of info about GLONASS and about the hardware required to bring it on line.
I honestly don't know if there are receivers that can use both GPS and GLONASS. I believe GLONASS is a closed system, so it might not be possible unless you have the public key. I know my Magellan can receive only GPS (and it does a bang-up job for what I need it for).
They are afraid we will cut them off if needed during a military operation. They don't want to be left dangling. They also want to supply precision nav signals to coutries like Iran and North Korea so that their cruise missiles can accurately hit Washinton or New York in case we turn off GPS during a future conflict. More French perfidy.
From a military standpoint, it would make sense for the EU to build their own navigation satellite system. They might not trust the results from GPS and/or GLONASS, or are banking against one or both of those systems being incapacitated in a war.
There are some very expensive specialized survey receivers that can receive either. But you have to choose one or the other at a time. There are no receivers that acquire satellites from both constellations and come up with a composite fix.
What do you want to bet that it will not be open? I'm guessing you will need a "smart card" with a paid-up subscription to access the signals or something along those lines.
That's good news. I still don't trust them though. I wonder if it will be an ultimatum-type request -- "Turn it off or we will 'turn it off' ourselves with an ASAT missile"?
I'd love to get my mitts on one of those (even if you could acquire only one constellation at a time).
We can always blind there satellites if that happens. The technology sure exists for it, I have no doubt in my mind that certain satellites are waiting in orbit, with one mission only.
My dream GPS receiver would overlay current NOAA weather radar over the map displayed on the screen. Maybe current traffic conditions too. Is that what they are planning?
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