Russia completes GLONASS constellation
Russia’s GLONASS satellite navigation system now has a full orbital constellation of 24 satellites following successful launch of the final unit from the Plesetsk spaceport at the beginning of October.
The complete system now provides a basic precision of 5m and aims to be fully competitive with the US GPS network by 2015. It also aims to complement the forthcoming China Compass and EU Galileo positioning systems under a development programme reportedly costing $11bn.
