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Russia’s Glonass-M navigation satellite planned for launch in late December

The Glonass-M satellite, which has No. 51, will replace the satellite that has operated for three years above the warranty term in the Russian navigational orbital grouping
Glonass-M navigation satellite Yevgeny Kurskov/TASS
Glonass-M navigation satellite
© Yevgeny Kurskov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. The Russian navigation satellite Glonass-M is planned for launch from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia in late December, the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems, the satellite developer, told TASS on Friday.

The satellite will be orbited by a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket with the Fregat booster. The Glonass-M satellite, which has No. 51, will replace the satellite that has operated for three years above the warranty term in the Russian navigational orbital grouping, the company said.

The satellite "was transported to the space center in a normal regime," the company said.

The No. 51 Glonass-M satellite is the first among the ground-based satellite reserve pool delivered to the cosmodrome.

The Reshetnev Company has created a reserve pool of satellites thanks to the stable operation of satellites in orbit. The previous launch of a satellite from the Glonass-M series comprising the backbone of the Russian navigational orbital grouping took place on June 14, 2014.

The Reshetnev Company’s reserve pool currently comprises 8 Glonass-M satellites.