Space

Customer takes control of 3 new Glonass satellites

RIA Novosti

12:10 15/12/2009 MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - The operator of the Glonass satellite navigation project has taken control of three newly orbited satellites, Russia's leading satellite manufacturer said on Tuesday.

The satellites are being operated from the Glonass mission control in the town of Krasnoznamensk, near Moscow.

"The first communication sessions have been carried out with all satellites. All systems of the spacecrafts operate in normal mode," Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems, which is a technical partner in the project, said in a statement.

The three satellites, which bring the total number of Glonass satellites in orbit to 22, were launched from the Baikonur space center on Monday.