Replacement satellite launched into Russia’s Glonass navigation fleet

A Soyuz rocket added a new satellite to Russia’s Glonass navigation network Friday with an on-target delivery nearly 12,000 miles above Earth. The fresh Glonass M spacecraft replaces a defunct satellite launched nearly 11 years ago, sustaining the Glonass system’s near-global reach for the Russian military. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off at 0002:32 GMT Friday (8:02:32 p.m. EDT Thursday) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, military spaceport in the Arkhangelsk region about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Moscow. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 23)