GLONASS
GLONASS, or the Global Navigation Satellite System, is Russia's satellite navigation system, designed to provide precise positioning and timing information globally. Developed initially as a Soviet military project in 1976, GLONASS became operational in the 1990s with a constellation of satellites in medium Earth orbit. Its primary function is to enable users to determine their location by receiving signals from multiple satellites. Unlike the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS employs frequency division multiple access (FDMA), allowing each satellite to transmit on distinct frequencies.
The system operates with a constellation of twenty-four satellites, ensuring that at least five are visible from any point on Earth at any time. Over the years, GLONASS has expanded beyond military applications to include civilian use in automotive navigation, smartphones, and law enforcement technologies. Its accuracy can vary, generally providing positioning within several meters, with improved performance at higher latitudes. Since the 2010s, GLONASS has integrated with other global navigation systems, enhancing its capabilities and making it a significant player in worldwide satellite navigation technology.
GLONASS
FIELDS OF STUDY: Geodetics; Space Technology
ABSTRACT: GLONASS is a Russian space-based satellite navigation system. GLONASS is short for Global Navigation Satellite System. It is an alternative to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS), but can be used alongside GPS to provide position information more speedily. GLONASS is used to provide air, marine, and other users with positioning, velocity measuring, and timing data.
Man-Made Constellations
A satellite navigation system is a network of artificial satellites used to map and position precise locations across the planet. Scientists place satellites into orbit around Earth by attaching them to rockets. The rockets launch and then release the satellites at a specific altitude. Once in orbit, satellites can send their time and positioning signals by radio waves to electronic receivers on the ground. Computers can then interpret these signals to determine the receiver’s position.
Scientists use satellite systems to calculate factors such as longitude, latitude, and altitude. Satellites determine great distances by measuring the amount of time it takes for the satellite signal to reach the signal receiver on the ground. Satellites also make time synchronization possible by coordinating their signals to transmit at exactly the same time. Most positioning devices need to be in contact with at least four satellites to get an accurate reading. The more satellites a receiver connects to, the more accurately it will locate a position. Errors may occur in satellite navigation, however. Atmospheric conditions can interfere with a satellite’s signal. Inaccuracies also occur when signals bounce off surfaces such as tall buildings before reaching the ground receiver.
Satellites travel around the earth in what is termed medium Earth orbit (MEO). MEO is from about 2,000 to 36,000 kilometers (1,200 to 22,000 miles) above sea level. In MEO, the satellites travel slowly enough for observation and can be arranged to achieve maximum signal transmission. Ground systems must constantly monitor satellite positions to ensure the highest possible positioning accuracy. Advanced systems with optimal conditions may provide positional accuracy to within a few centimeters.
GLONASS is operated by the Russian government and is one of several government-funded satellite navigation systems orbiting Earth. It followed the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States as the second such system available. GPS and GLONASS were also the first to provide coverage of the entire Earth, earning designation as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Since then, two other GNSSs have come online: Europe’s Galileo satellite network and China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS). Regional systems include the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), also known as Michibiki, of Japan, and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) of India. Simultaneous use of multiple satellite systems give the greatest amount of positioning data for a receiver.
History and Development
Development of GLONASS began in 1976 as a Soviet military initiative. It was intended to provide ballistic missile navigation and targeting capabilities, similar to the origins of GPS in the United States. The Soviet Union’s goal was to have a fully functional comprehensive satellite system in operation by 1991. Beginning in 1982, various rocket launches released forty-three satellites into space to create the constellation of devices needed to achieve coverage.
However, by 1991 the Soviet Union had collapsed, and only twelve working satellites remained. The last satellites were added in 1995 to make GLONASS operational, with twenty-four total satellites. However, the Russian economy experienced a massive downturn, and GLONASS operations suffered as a result. In 1996 the system was opened to civilian use, but was too expensive to maintain. Satellites were left to deteriorate in space and the program was essentially abandoned for nearly a decade.
Russia began restoring GLONASS satellites in 2001 under the government of Vladimir Putin, who made the project a national priority. Improved satellite models were developed and launched, beginning with the GLONASS-M models. All twenty-four satellites in the constellation were fully reestablished by 2011, giving Russia full global coverage. Over the next few years, Russia continued to release new satellites with improved navigational systems and longer lifespans. The next series, GLONASS-K, was first launched in February 2011. The second launch was delayed but took place in November 2014. GLONASS-K featured a lighter design and better accuracy. A second series of the GLONASS-K, GLONASS-K2, would follow soon after.
GLONASS Constellation Configuration
A set of twenty-four operational satellites must be in orbit around Earth for the GLONASS system to be fully functional. Only twenty-one of the satellites transmit signals. The remaining three are spares. The satellites move in three orbital planes containing eight satellites each. The three planes follow a nearly circular orbit and are displaced from each other by 15 degrees of latitude. Each satellite takes just over eleven hours and fifteen minutes to completely orbit the earth. GLONASS monitors the status of its satellites through its ground segments, also known as the operational control segments, which are located within former Soviet Union territory and several more in Brazil.
When the constellation is fully populated, at least five satellites are visible from any given point at any given time, ensuring constant availability of GLONASS’s global navigation. Due to its roughly circular orbit, a satellite only goes by the exact same spot approximately every eight days. This helps reduce the resonance effect that results from continuous usage of one frequency.
Russia’s GLONASS differs from the American GPS in several ways. Each GLONASS satellite transmits its own frequency, unlike GPS satellites. Each GLONASS satellite uses frequency division multiple access (FDMA) in the L1 and L2 radio frequency bands. The L1 band covers 1602.5625 megahertz (MHz) to 1615.5 MHz, while L2 is 1240 to 1260 MHz. FDMA allows multiple users to access satellite frequencies simultaneously.
Early GLONASS satellites operated between the radio frequencies 1610.6 and 1613.8 MHz. This caused interference for radio astronomy research, however. In the early 1990s, the GLONASS administration and the Russian Federation came to an agreement with other countries to clear the band of this interference. All satellites launched after 2005 were designated specific frequency channels and had filters incorporated into their design to block out any transmissions other than those within the band.
Commercial Use of GLONASS
Twenty-first-century GLONASS developers intended their satellites for more than military usage. Russia wanted a navigation system on par with the United States’ GPS. The success of civilian GPS had proven the market for navigation systems in automobiles, smartphones, and other devices. The first commercial automobile navigation device using GLONASS was released in 2007. However, it was larger, less effective, and more expensive than comparable GPS receivers. In terms of accuracy, GPS slightly outweighs GLONASS. Roughly, GPS can be accurate up to 2.00–8.76 meters, whereas GLONASS has a position accuracy of 4.46–7.38 meters. On high latitudes, GLONASS has better accuracy due to its unique orbital positioning of satellites. Early commercial initiatives also included the use of GLONASS in animal tracking collars and electronic bracelets for criminals. As the system improved, so did commercial and specialized devices. Russian law enforcement utilized GLONASS navigation for speedy location of crime scenes and locating police cars in need of backup. Statistics showed that the use of GLONASS among Russian police led to a decrease in the crime rate.
To encourage the adoption of GLONASS, the Russian government began taxing GPS-only devices coming into the country in 2010. The mandate excluded devices that supported both GPS and GLONASS technology. GLONASS became even more useful to the public after announcing it would pair up with GPS and other nationally recognized global navigation systems to provide a more powerful signal among navigation technology users. Many major technology companies, including Sony and Garmin, began integrating GLONASS technology into their products. GLONASS quickly became a prominent part of the world’s satellite navigation systems.
PRINCIPAL TERMS
- Global Positioning System (GPS): satellite navigation system developed by the United States. GPS is used to determine the position, navigation, and timing of objects through data from satellites.
- satellite: an object that orbits another object; most commonly, a machine that is launched into space to orbit Earth.
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