MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2019) Russia will launch a backup GLONASS-M satellite in February 2020 to replace a GLONASS-M satellite that stopped operating after its warranty period ended, a source in the space industry told Sputnik.
In November, another source told Sputnik that the next Russian GLONASS navigation satellite will be lunched on December 10 to replace the GLONASS-M satellite with system number 742 that stopped operating in August, after its 7-year-warranty period ended.
"The launch of the GLONASS-M backup satellite, which is expected to replace similar satellite with system number 735, is planned for February 5 or 12," the source said.
According to him, the satellite that was launched in 2010 stopped operating in November after its warranty period ended.
Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos refused to comment on this information.
At the moment, the Russian GLONASS navigation system consists of 27 satellites, including 22 operational devices in orbit. One satellite is in orbital reserve, and another one satellite is in the flight test phase. Three more satellites are in maintenance. To ensure the global coverage of the navigation system, 24 operational satellites are needed.
