Russia Launches Three GLONASS Satellites

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Russia got its GNSS program back on track on December 14 with the launch of three modernized GLONASS-M satellites — resuming a schedule interrupted by problems with a navigation payload on an in-orbit spacecraft.

A Proton launcher took the trio of satellites into orbit at 1038 GMT (5:38 a.m. EST) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan.

The launch brings the total number of GLONASS satellites in orbit to 22 — although one of these is in the process of being decommissioned and two others are currently off-line for maintenance, including GLONASS #726 in which the signal generator problem was discovered. Another launch is expected in February 2010.

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