What is GLONASS and how does it differ from American GPS

The Russian GLOBAL Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) has recently received a lot of attention in the mass media, and ordinary people, especially those who are far from the problems of satellite navigation, can get the impression that this system has appeared quite recently and is in its infancy. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. And yet, what is GLONASS? When did it appear and the better the famous GPS?

The history of the origin of domestic satellite navigation

The idea of using artificial earth satellites for navigational needs appeared in the fifties of the last century, when the first object, created by human hands, appeared in a near-earth orbit. It was then that, observing the signals of the first satellite, scientists in practice became convinced that the frequency of the signal received from an orbiting satellite changes, depending on its position relative to the observer (Doppler effect). In addition, knowing the exact coordinates of the observer on Earth, you can measure the coordinates and speed of the satellite and, conversely, vice versa. The 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).

And what about the homeland of astronautics? At that time Soviet scientists did not sit idly by. Even before the world learned what GLONASS or GPS was, in 1967 the first navigation satellite Kosmos-192 was launched, and in 1968 Kosmos-220. Both satellites were intended for navigation and long-distance communications of the ships of the Soviet Navy and were part of the first navigation system "Cyclone" (in the civil version - "Cicada"). And in 1976 the system, which includes 6 "Sail" spacecraft, was already adopted. The accuracy of the determination of coordinates was 80-100 m, which for that time was not so bad.

Approximately at the same time, it became known what GLONASS is. In 1976, during the continuation of the Cyclone program, the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a special resolution on the further development of domestic satellite navigation. Despite the constantly shifting timeframe, in October 1982, the first Uragan satellite belonging to the GLONASS system was launched into orbit, and by 1991 there were already 12 capable satellites in orbit.

The official acceptance of the system in operation took place in September 1993, and by 1995 the satellite group had 24 satellites (staffing number). Unfortunately, the restructuring, the subsequent collapse of the USSR, and the limited lifespan of satellites led to the fact that in 2001 there were only 6 working satellites in orbit, and they began to forget about GLONASS.

After the adoption of the federal program in 2001, the situation has nevertheless begun to be corrected, and by the end of 2011 the number of satellites has been brought to the required level. For the period of 2012-2020. For the development of GLONASS allocated 320 billion rubles. During this time it is planned to produce and launch 22 more GLONASS-K and 15 GLONASS-M satellites

How GLONASS works

The principle 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 practically anywhere in the world. To determine the exact coordinates, only the corresponding GLONASS equipment is required.

Despite the fact that the accuracy of determining the coordinates using the domestic system is somewhat 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 of operation due to the fact that it does not depend on the rotation of the Earth and, Does not require any additional adjustments. Speaking about accuracy, by 2020 the developers plan to increase it to 0.6 m, and in the future - up to 0.1 m.

As for receiving equipment, GLONASS-navigators integrated with smartphones are now installed in regular phones. Modern hybrid devices that can work simultaneously with GLONASS and GPS, today you can freely buy in shops selling consumer electronics, or order online.