Russia’s GLONASS again at full strength, competes with GPS and Galileo
Russia’s GLONASS is a little bit like a mirror of the country’s state. GLONASS was planned in the 70s as a military system to compete with the American GPS. The disintegration of the all powerful Soviet Union and the following lack of money and neglect in Russia in the 90s led to a system operating far from its originally planned full strength. Much needed new satellites were never launched to complete the required number of twenty four -21 plus 3 spare ones like for GPS. Coverage remained patchy and never covered the globe, it centered instead on more urgent Russian needs.
The rise of Russia in the energy game in the 00s provided the funds for new launches. It is projected that by 2009 all 24 navigational satellites will be in place to cover the globe. This puts GLONASS in direct competition with GPS but ahead of Europe’s Galileo which just secured funding but has a long way to become fully operational. All three systems can be switched off completely or in specific geographic areas if required. Galileo promises better accuracy with 32 instead of 24 satellites but has lost precious time with the funding delays. In the meantime GPS is now proven and well established in the minds of consumers, it is more or less the synonym to satellite navigation. What do you think, would you trust all three systems for your navigational needs? Is there a particular one you prefer and why?
Link: Reuters
