Successful Proton Launch Replenishes GLONASS Constellation

A Proton K/DM-2 successfully launched 3 multiple-manifested GLONASS satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1412 UTC (7:12 a.m. PDT) on October 13. The 1415 kg (3120 lbm) Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS, Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites are designed by NPO Prikladnoy Mekhaniki, Zheleznogorsk, and built by the Polet Production Association, Omsk. The constellation operates in a circular 19,100 km orbit at an inclination angle of 64.8 degrees. These satellites will be designated Kosmos 2374, Kosmos 2375 and Kosmos 2376. 

The GLONASS system is a counterpart to the United States NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), with both systems sharing the same data transmission and positioning methods.  

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