VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Russia's Glonass global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is to undergo something of a revival over the next few years. Following years of system capability gradually being eroded due to lack of funding, last year saw the Russian government commit funds to rebuild the ailing system.
On 27 August, the Russian government approved the Global Navigation System federal programme, aimed at Glonass replenishment and development through to 2011. The plan will see the number of Glonass satellites boosted to a complete constellation of 24, and the introduction of more capable, longer life Glonass-K third- generation satellites.
Glonass - the acronym for global navigation satellite system in Russian - was originally developed for military use to provide highly accurate positioning for ballistic and cruise missiles.
Its original Uragan satellites were developed by the Scientific Industrial Association of Applied Mechanics (NPO PM) based in Krasnoyarsk-26 (Zheleznogorsk) in Siberia. The Uragan entered production in 1979 at Omsk-based Polyet factory and first flew in 1982.
The system reached its initial operational capability in 1993, when 12 satellites were in orbit. Deployment of the whole constellation - 24 satellites in three planes at an orbit inclination of 65° - was completed two years later.
Glonass was first made available to civil users in 1991 by Mikhail Gorbachev, then president of the Soviet Union. Today, Glonass provides navigation services using two signals - a standard service for civil users and a high-accuracy one for the military.
The original Uragan satellites were designed with a guaranteed in-orbit lifetime of three years, but in reality, they have averaged 53 months in service. This is a relatively short lifetime in satellite terms, and a shortage of funds for replenishment of the constellation has resulted in the Glonass system today only having seven fully operable satellites, plus two more undergoing tuning and maintenance.
These operational satellites were deployed in December 1998, October 2000 and December 2001, by Proton-K heavy rockets with DM upper stage carrying three satellites. Up to 10 more satellites deployed earlier remain under control, but do not emit navigation signals.
Availability of navigation service - how many hours a day a minimum set of four satellites are accessible from a given point on the ground - is as low as 1.5-2h in some remote regions, rising to 8h for the equator and tropics, and peaking at 10-12h over Russia and the North Atlantic.
Efforts to replenish the constellation have allowed it to remain operational, although with much reduced functionality. In an attempt to boost the system, Russia started talks with China in 2000 on the possibility of China jointly using Glonass in return for help in increasing its functionality, but the two countries failed to agree terms.
Vladimir Putin's Global Navigation System federal programme, however, should see the number of operational satellites boosted to 10 or 12 by early 2003. This figure - the minimum for operational usefulness - will be maintained until the improved Glonass-M satellite becomes available in 2004.
Putin's plan calls for 18-20 satellites to be operational in 2005, eventually leading to a complete constellation of 24 satellites. The system would then be further maintained by adding the third-generation Glonass-K satellites.
The plan will result in the deployment of seven improved Uragans, with lifetime extended to five years, and 11 Glonass-Ms and 20 Glonass-Ks. In total, 23.6 billion roubles ($760 million) will be invested in Glonass between 2002 and 2011, including 1.4
billion roubles directly from state budgets. The rest should come from "non-budgetary sources", with the bulk (80%) to be provided by the ministry of transport. The state will fund Glonass to the tune of 1.7-2 billion roubles a year until 2006.
By 2011, the number of Glonass user receivers will top seven million, with state organisations using 85,000 of these. If Russian firms can make globally competitive user receivers, the government says that by 2015 Glonass could net a profit of 16 billion roubles, rising to 30 billion roubles by 2020. Much of this is expected to come from the transport, mapping, forestry and construction industries.
This year's budget allocates 1.65 billion roubles for the manufacture and launch of three improved Uragans, along with research and development work, including certification of receivers for civil and military users.
Yuri Koptev, general director of Russian aerospace agency Rosaviacosmos, says NPO PM has been allocated 600 million roubles for development of the new Glonass-M. Based on the Uragan, it features improved onboard equipment and an extended lifetime of seven to 10 years. The first Glonass-M could be fielded as early as the end of this year. For civil users, the Glonass-M will emit two signals, which will improve navigation accuracy by 2-2.5 times.
Meanwhile, NPO PM has already started designing the all-new Glonass-K, and aims to begin flight tests "after 2005". Glonass-K should have improved accuracy and be able to serve airliners flying Polar routes. At 700kg (1,540lb), its low weight will allow deployment of six satellites by the Proton-M booster or two by a Soyuz-2. If the design target of 10-to- 12 year operational lifetime is met, then only one Soyuz-2 flight a year would suffice to keep a constellation of 24 workable satellites until 2011.
It is yet to be seen whether Russia rebuilds Glonass by itself or teams up with other nations interested in an alternative to the global positioning system. The European Commission has long been keen to use Russian satellite navigation expertise on its Galileo project. NPO PM is ready to assist Europe in creating its own constellation of navigation satellites, and has offered its satellite design as the basic platform.
Source: Flight International
