The three Glonass satellites will be launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan for the first time on board an improved Proton-M carrier rocket to join the existing satellite constellation.
"The launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket with three Glonass satellites on board has been scheduled for 10.32 p.m. Moscow time (7.32 p.m. GMT)," the official said.
Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time.
A fully operational Glonass constellation will consist of 24 satellites, with 21 used for transmitting signals and three for on-orbit spares, deployed in three orbital planes.
A total of 9.88 billion rubles ($380 million) was allocated for Glonass from the federal budget in 2007, and 4.7 billion ($181 million) in 2006. The system is to become fully operational by 2008.
Another six satellites will be added to the Glonass system in 2008, and the first two improved Glonass-K satellites will be launched in 2009.
The future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurized platform, standardized to the specifications of the previous models' platform, Express-1000.
"When the improved Glonass-K satellites with a 10-year service life are complete, the system will be as good as GPS, and users will be able to use both systems," Yury Nosenko,
a deputy director of the Federal Space Agency, said in May.
Russia has so far conducted 16 successful space launches from the Baikonur space center this year. A launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket on September 6 was unsuccessful.
