The Russian GLOBAL Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) has received quite a lot of attention in the media recently, and a simple layman, especially far from satellite navigation problems, may have the impression that this system appeared recently and is in its infancy. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. And yet, what is GLONASS? When did it appear and what is better than the famous GPS?
The history of the emergence of domestic satellite navigation
The idea of using
artificial Earth satellites for navigation needs appeared in the fifties of the last century, when the first object created by human hands ended up in low Earth orbit. It was then that, observing the signals of the first satellite, scientists were convinced in practice that the frequency of the signal received from the satellite in orbit changes depending on its position relative to the observer (Doppler effect). In addition, knowing the exact coordinates of the observer on Earth, it is possible to measure the coordinates and speed of the satellite and, accordingly, vice versa. This idea was realized by the Americans in 1974, when the first navigation satellite was launched under the DNSS program (later the program became known as Navstar-GPS, and then simply GPS).
But what about the homeland of astronautics? Soviet scientists at that time also did not sit idly by. Even before the world knew what GLONASS or GPS was, the first navigation satellite Cosmos-192 was launched in 1967, and Cosmos-220 in 1968. Both satellites were intended for navigation and long-distance communications of the Soviet Navy ships and were included in the first Cyclone navigation system (in the civilian version - Cicada). And in 1976, the system, comprising 6 Sail spacecraft, was already adopted. The accuracy of determining the coordinates was 80-100 m, which for that time was not so bad.
Around the same time, it became known that GLONASS is. In 1976, in the continuation of the Cyclone program, the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers issued a special resolution on the further development of domestic satellite navigation. Despite the constantly shifting deadlines, in October 1982 the first Hurricane satellite belonging to the GLONASS system was launched into orbit, and by 1991 there were already 12 operational satellites in orbit.
The system was officially put into operation in September 1993, and by 1995 the satellite group consisted of 24 satellites (standard number). Unfortunately, perestroika, the subsequent collapse of the USSR, and also the limited
life of the satellites led to the fact that by 2001 there were only 6 working satellites in orbit, and they began to gradually forget what GLONASS was.
After the adoption of the federal program in 2001, the state of affairs nevertheless began to improve, and by the end of 2011 the regular number of satellites was brought to the required level. For the period 2012-2020. 320 billion rubles allocated for the development of GLONASS. During this time, it is planned to manufacture and launch another 22 GLONASS-K satellites and 15 GLONASS-M satellites
How GLONASS works
The principle of operation of the domestic navigation system is the same as that of the American GPS. Satellites in orbit continuously emit two types of signals - standard and high accuracy, which are available to consumers located almost anywhere in the world. To determine the exact coordinates, only the appropriate GLONASS equipment is required.
Despite the fact that the accuracy of determining coordinates using the domestic system is slightly inferior to the American one (3-6 m versus 2-4 m) and the service life of the satellites is shorter, GLONASS provides greater stability due to the fact that it does not depend on the rotation of the Earth and, therefore, does not require any additional adjustments. If we talk about accuracy, then by 2020 the developers plan to increase it to 0.6 m, and in the future - to 0.1 m.
As for the receiving equipment, GLONASS navigators, integrated with smartphones, are now installed in ordinary phones. Modern hybrid devices that can work simultaneously with GLONASS and GPS, today you can freely buy in stores that sell consumer electronics, or order in the online store.