Russia has launched three more Glonass navigation satellites

Glonass satellite array, the Russian answer to the US GPS satellite array. The system now has 16 satellites, of which 14 are active

The Proton rocket was launched on September 25, 2008, carrying three more satellites to the rapidly expanding Russian navigation satellite array. In recent months, the Proton rocket was launched from the launch site in Bikaner, Kazakhstan. The first three stages of the rocket were ignited during the first nine minutes of launch and the fourth stage, the upper Block DM type, was ignited twice. In order to bring the three satellites in the Glonass series to an intermediate high orbit, the satellites, weighing 1,500 kg, were released in a circular orbit at an altitude of 19,200 km and at an inclination of 64.8 degrees. It was the seventh launch of a cargo into space this year using a Proton rocket.

The Glonass satellite array, the Russian answer to Russia's GPS satellite array, now has 16 satellites. According to a report by the Russian Space Agency, one satellite is currently undergoing maintenance and one is about to be taken out of service, leaving the system with 14 satellites in daily operational activity. The Glonass satellite system is managed by the Russian military and it sends out two navigation signals to military and civilian users. The civilian channel provides positioning within an accuracy range of 60 meters

An array of 18 satellites located in three orbital planes is needed to provide full envelope coverage of all of Russia and an array of 24 satellites to provide global coverage. Russian government officials want the Glonass array to have a total of 2011 satellites by 30, including backup satellites. Three more satellites in the Glonass series will be launched this year during the month of December and more satellites will be launched next year.

The Israeli satellite site