Glonass-M No. 56 (Kosmos 2527)
Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Russian Space Forces
Rocket Launch Videos
Mission
Glonass-M No. 56 (Kosmos 2527)
- Type: Navigation
- Orbit: Medium Earth Orbit
- Launch Cost: $48,500,000
GLONASS is a global satellite navigation system similar to the American GPS system.
Location
43/4 (43R)
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
43/4 (43R) has witnessed the launch of 324 rockets, including 324 orbital launch attempts. While Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation, has been the site for 1675 rocket launches.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became a foreign territory, and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
Rocket
Progress Rocket Space Center Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M
Soyuz-2, GRAU index 14A14, is the collective designation for the 21st-century version of the Russian Soyuz rocket. In its basic form, it is a three-stage carrier rocket for placing payloads into low Earth orbit. The first-stage boosters and two core stages feature uprated engines with improved injection systems, compared to the previous versions of the Soyuz. Digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to be launched from a fixed launch platform, whereas the launch platforms for earlier Soyuz rockets had to be rotated as the rocket could not perform a roll to change its heading in flight.
Agency
Russian Space Forces
The Russian Space Forces are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Russia. Having been reestablished following August 1, 2015 merger between the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces after a 2011 dissolving of the branch. The Russian Space Forces were originally formed on August 10, 1992 and the creation of the Russian Armed Forces.
