It was the issue of Indo-Russian collaboration on nuclear energy that got most of the news attention during Russian President Putin’s visit last week. The fact that space technologies were also high on the agenda was largely overlooked. Three agreements were signed by Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO, with the director of Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation. Of the three, two were connected with the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System, GLONASS; and the other was on cooperation in the joint satellite project, YOUTHSAT. The pacts assume relevance particularly when viewed against the backdrop of recent Chinese adventurism in testing an anti-satellite weapon.

The first agreement is about access to navigation signals of the GLONASS for peaceful purposes, and second is on becoming a part of the GLONASS Radio Frequency Spectrum. In fact, GLONASS is an old system that came into being in 1976. The first GLONASS satellite was launched into orbit in 1982, but the system became operational only by 1995. This satellite constellation is a Russian version of the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and the European Galileo system. It is designed for both military and civilian purposes, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. It can also be used in geological prospecting, air traffic control, mobile telephony, sensor technology and police surveillance. These satellites operate in circular orbits (19,100 km above ground) and offer accuracy for civilian users up to 30 metres. Currently, they have a system in space constituting a few old GLONASS series satellites and more than half a dozen satellites of the GLONASS-M series, launched after 2004 with a working life period of seven years. The GLONASS-K would be next generation series, with lighter weights and a 10-12 year life span.

... contd.