OREANDA-NEWS. Glonass-K №12, an advanced navigation satellite designed and built by ISS-Reshetnev Company, was successfully launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on December 1, 2014.

The launch of a Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat rocket carrying Glonass-K №12 occurred at 00:52 Moscow time. The satellite reached its intended orbit, all the mechanical subsystems have deployed normally. The satellite has successfully completed Earth- and Sun-acquisition phases.

Glonass-K №12 is the second Russian unpressurized navigation satellite. Having a mass of 974 kg and electrical power supply system capacity of 1600 W, the satellite is designed for a 10-year mission life.

The Glonass-K satellite is capable of broadcasting five navigation signals in L1, L2 and L3 frequency bands. Additionally, it is equipped with a COSPAS-SARSAT payload, an international satellite-aided search and rescue system.

With equipment modifications and improvements, next-generation navigation satellites are expected to increase the positioning accuracy of the whole GLONASS system.