ZHUKOVSKY, Russia, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Russia plans to launch six new advanced military communications satellites by the end of this year.
Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, made the pledge last week at the MAKS-2007 air show outside Moscow, RIA Novosti reported.
Perminov said the Federal Space Agency planned to increase the effectiveness of its satellite communication systems. He said six new Glonass satellites would be fired into orbit by the end of 2007 in addition to the 12 already in orbit. Those launches would complete the new network of Glonass satellites that could be used for military as well as civilian communications and navigation and would cover the entire Russian Federation, the largest nation on Earth, he said.
RIA Novosti noted that Glonass is Russia's own global satellite navigation system to enable its users to locate their exact positions anywhere in real time. It is a Russian alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System.
"A total of 9.88 billion rubles -- $379.7 million -- have been allocated for Glonass from the federal budget in 2007, and 4.72 billion -- $181.4 million -- in 2006. The system is to become fully operational by 2008," RIA Novosti said.
Perminov also said Russian space companies would be consolidated into 10-12 groups, and then further assembled into three or four holding companies, the report said.
"By 2010, we plan to create 10-12 integrated structures, and by 2015, three to four space holdings," Perminov said.
