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GLONASS-M Successfully Placed into Orbit. / March 24, 2014 /

On 24 March at 02:54 GMT, the Soyuz-2.1B rocket/Fregat upper stage with the navigation satellite GLONASS-M lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome launch complex, Pad 43. The loft was jointly carried out by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rocket and Space Industry specialist teams.

GLONASS-M (built by Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems, Zheleznogorsk) was delivered to its target orbit and taken under control in accordance with the flight profile. GLONASS-M will replenish the aging GLONASS domestic global navigation satellite constellation. Before the GLONASS-M launch, 28 GLONASS spacecraft were in orbit. 24 of them were used according to their purpose, three ones in reserve, and one more under in-flight tests.

Soyuz-2.1B was built by GNPRKTs „TsSKB-Progress“ (Samara) and Fregat upper stage – by Lavochkin Research & Production Association.

GLONASS is a dual-purpose system designed for solving tasks to the benefit of the Russian ministry of Defense and civil customers. Both Russian and foreign customers have a free and unlimited access to the civil navigation signals from the GLONASS global positioning satellite system.

ROSCOSMOS Press Service

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