5-6 satellites may be added to GLONASS orbital group in 2013 - ISS director
ZHELEZNOGORSK (Krasnoyarsk Territory). Feb 4 (Interfax-AVN) - OAO Information Satellite Systems (ISS, Zheleznogorsk) is successfully implementing the program to create navigation satellites to support the orbital group GLONASS, Nikolai Testoyedov, general constructor and general director of OAO Information Satellite Systems (ISS), told Interfax-AVN.
"I think we will launch at least 5-6 navigation satellites in 2013: three GLONASS-M satellites will be launched some time in the middle of 2013, plus 1-2 GLONASS-M and GLONASS-K1 satellites," Testoyedov said.
"We launched six GLONASS satellites in 2011 and none in 2012 because they were not needed: the group, in which the orbital reserve worked effectively, turned out very stable and reliable. For this reason, the three GLONASS-M satellites that we could have launched if they had been needed are now stored at ISS. We will make another five GLONASS-M satellites in 2013," Testoyedov said.