OREANDA-NEWS. December 9, 2011. The Glonass-M №46 satellite manufactured by Academician M.F. Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems was successfully launched on November 28, 2011.

The Krasnokamensk Satellite System Mission Control Center together with the ISS-Reshetnev Information Computation Center has commenced testing the satellite on-board equipment. Upon completion of the test phase the spacecraft will be manuevered to its target orbit and then put into operation.

This is already the fourth launch performed this year within the scope of the federal target program “Global Navigation Satellite System”. The next-generation Glonass-K satellite was placed into orbit in February, 2011. At present it is undergoing flight tests. Later this year the GLONASS constellation was enlarged by 4 more Glonass-M satellites – one was launched in October and another three in November.

According to Nikolay Testoyedov, general designer and director general of ISS-Reshetnev, “Having launched these satellites we have made an important step towards creating an orbital reserve. The availability of two reserve satellites in each of the three orbital planes will enable us to replenish the system within several days or weeks, but not months and years as it used to be before”.