The GLONASS System Status and Prospects for Development

Michael Lebedev, Victor Gorev, Alexander Ganin and Victor Kulnev

Abstract:	Carrying out the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated September 24, 1993 and the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation J%237 dated March 7, 1995, the Russian Space Forces in the current year continue to conduct the planned activity on deployment the orbital constellation of GLONASS system and to control the system as a whole, and the organizing and coordinating activity in user’s navigation equipment creation and further development of GLONASS program. Three satellites of the 25-th block were successfully launched in March, the next 26-th block was put into the orbit in July, and up to the end of the year it is planned to make 2-3 launches and that will provide the fulfilling of obligations to deploy the fuU constellation in 1995. However even now 22 operational satellites of GLONASS system provide continues navigational field, which enable users in standard mode using standard precision channel to determine position with 50-70 m accuracy and velocity measuring with 15 cm/set accuracy. Such accuracy characteristics are available for mass domestic and foreign users and they can be improved significantly by using special technical and mathematical methods of conducting and processing the measurements. The fact that the characteristics of GLONASS system are not worse as compared with similar American GPS system and, because of high inclinations of orbits, GLONASS possesses even more favorable characteristics of satellites observation in north latitudes, many times was contirmed by Russian and foreign experts and practices. Besides, as using of selective access mode is absent in GLONASS system it is more preferable for civilian users in accuracy. However, we are sure, the fact of existence of two global satelUte navigation systems belonging to two different countries must not assume their indispensable opposition, but on the contrary, allows to work out a wide range of tasks in the interests of world society. For the first time the proposal on international civilian use of GLONASS system’s navigation field and free access of standard precision channel was made to ICAO by Russian party on May 9, 1988 and from that day our course to the integration and cooperation with foreign navigation means remain stable. The joint use of navigation fields of GLONASS and GPS allows to increase the reliability of navigation determinations, and to increase the integrity index of combined navigation system as we& including realization in receivers autonomous integrity monitoring mode. The advantage of joint GLONASS-GPS use during these years became undeniable fact and confident realization of GLONASS program will promote the fastest implementation of both systems in many spheres of world economy and science.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995) September 12 - 15, 1995 Palm Springs, CA
Pages:	959 - 969
Cite this article:	Lebedev, Michael, Gorev, Victor, Ganin, Alexander, Kulnev, Victor, "The GLONASS System Status and Prospects for Development," Proceedings of the 8th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1995), Palm Springs, CA, September 1995, pp. 959-969.
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