NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 2018-053A
The Glonass fleet consists of 24 active satellites, plus the new spacecraft launched Saturday and another undergoing flight tests. The network, which is run by the Russian military but is also used by civilians worldwide, requires 24 satellites in service spread among three orbital planes to provide global navigation coverage.
The new satellite is set to replace an aging Glonass navigation station launched in 2009. The Glonass-M spacecraft are designed for seven-year service lives. The Russian Defense Ministry renamed the satellite Kosmos 2527 after the launch, keeping with the naming convention for the country’s military payloads. The defense ministry confirmed in a statement that the Glonass-M satellite launched Saturday was functioning normally after arriving in orbit.
The Glonass program is Russia’s analog to the U.S. military’s Global Positioning System, providing precise position and time information to users equipped with receivers on the ground.
Launch Date: 2018-06-16
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-2.1b
Launch Site: Plesetsk, Russia
Mass: 1415 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office