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Russian global positioning & navigation system fully covering Arctic

The system has a precision of 5.5 meters and what is more, reserves capabilities of the positioning instruments are being created

ARKHANGELSK, September 22 (Itar-Tass) – Russia’s global positioning and navigation system GLONASS covers the entire Arctic region, Anatoly Shilov, a deputy director of the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos said Thursday as he took the floor at an international Arctic forum underway here.

“One of the problems has been resolved in full and that’s the problem of satellite navigation, as our GLONASS system has a hundred percent coverage of the entire area,” Shilov said.

The system has a precision of 5.5 meters and what is more, reserves capabilities of the positioning instruments are being created.

“We’re about to launch one more satellite in two days’ time and the whole system will have a good reserve of six satellites in orbit by the yearend,” Shilov said.

“All the necessary ground-based equipment is available and all the conditions for resolving the rest of positioning problems are there, too,” he said.

“In addition to this, GLONASS is compatible with the GPS and we’re seeking to attain a level where the customers won’t feel any difference between the two systems,” Shilov said.

“Thus the positioning and navigation part of Arctic problems has been resolved for the time being,” he said.