Russia to accelerate GLONASS navigation satellite launches

Russia will accelerate the pace of communications satellite launches to give its GLONASS navigation system full global coverage capacity by the end of the year, a senior government official said Wednesday. Russia’s national space agency is planning to place into orbit six new GLONASS navigation satellites by the end of 2011, said Anatoly Shilov, a spokesman for Russia’s National Space Agency. GLONASS is a Russia-developed satellite-navigation system similar to the U.S.-developed GPS. The Russian network currently operates 23 satellites, giving coverage of Russia and the former Soviet Union. It needs between 25 and 30 aloft to provide global coverage, according to news reports. More

(Source: The Hindu - Jun 3)