GLONASS GLONASS ( , ; ) , acronym for ' or Global Navigation Satellite System , is a space - based satellite navigation system operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces . It provides an alternative to Global Positioning System ( GPS ) and is the only alternative navigational system in operation with global coverage and of comparable precision . Development of GLONASS began in the Soviet Union in 1976 . Beginning on 12 October 1982 , numerous rocket launches added satellites to the system until the constellation was completed in 1995 . During the 2000s , under Vladimir Putin ' s presidency , the restoration of the system was made a top government priority and funding was substantially increased . GLONASS is the most expensive program of the Russian Federal Space Agency , consuming a third of its budget in 2010 . By 2010 , GLONASS had achieved 100 % coverage of Russia ' s territory and in October 2011 , the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored , enabling full global coverage . The GLONASS satellites ' designs have undergone several upgrades , with the latest version being GLONASS - K . History . Inception and design . The first satellite - based radio navigation system developed in the Soviet Union was Tsiklon , which had the purpose of providing ballistic missile submarine s a method for accurate positioning . 31 Tsiklon satellites were launched between 1967 and 1978 . The main problem with the system was that , although highly accurate for stationary or slow - moving ships , it required several hours of observation by the receiving station to fix a position , making it unusable for many navigation purposes and for the guidance of the new generation of ballistic missiles . In 1968 – 1969 , a new navigation system , which would support not only the navy , but also the air , land and space forces , was conceived . Formal requirements were completed in 1970 ; in 1976 , the government made a decision to launch development of the " Unified Space Navigation System GLONASS " . The task of designing GLONASS was given to a group of young specialists at NPO PM in the city of Krasnoyarsk - 26 ( today called Zheleznogorsk ) . Under the leadership of Vladimir Cheremisin , they developed different proposals , from which the institute ' s director Grigory Chernyavsky selected the final one . The work was completed in the late 1970s ; the system would consist of 24 satellites operating at an altitude of 20 , 000 km in medium circular orbit . It would be able to promptly fix the receiving station ' s position based on signals from 4 satellites , and also reveal the object ' s speed and direction . The satellites would be launched 3 at a time on the heavy - lift Proton rocket . Due to the large number of satellites needed for the program , NPO PM delegated the manufacturing of the satellites to PO Polyot in Omsk , which had better production capabilities . Originally , GLONASS was designed to have an accuracy of 65 m , but in reality it had an accuracy of 20 m in the civilian signal and 10 m in the military signal . The first generation GLONASS satellites were 7 . 8 m tall , had a width of 7 . 2 m , measured across their solar panels , and a mass of 1 , 260 kg . Achieving full orbital constellation . In the early 1980s , NPO PM received the first prototype satellites from PO Polyot for ground tests . Many of the produced parts were of low quality and NPO PM engineers had to perform substantial redesigning , leading to a delay . On 12 October 1982 , three satellites , designated Kosmos - 1413 , Kosmos - 1414 , and Kosmos - 1415 were launched aboard a Proton rocket . As only one GLONASS satellite was ready in time for the launch instead of the expected three , it was decided to launch it along with two mock - ups . The American media reported the event as a launch of one satellite and " two secret objects . " For a long time , the Americans could not find out the nature of those " objects " . The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union ( TASS ) covered the launch , describing GLONASS as a system " created to determine positioning of civil aviation aircraft , navy transport and fishing - boats of the Soviet Union " . From 1982 through April 1991 , the Soviet Union successfully launched a total of 43 GLONASS - related satellites plus five test satellites . When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991 , twelve functional GLONASS satellites in two planes were operational ; enough to allow limited usage of the system ( to cover the entire territory of the country , 18 satellites would have been necessary . ) The Russian Federation took over control of the constellation and continued its development . In 1993 , the system , now consisting of 12 satellites , was formally declared operational and in December 1995 , the constellation was finally brought to its optimal status of 24 operational satellites . This brought the precision of GLONASS on - par with the American GPS system , which had achieved full operational capability а year earlier . Economic crisis and fall into disrepair . Since the first generation satellites operated for 3 years each , to keep the system at full capacity , two launches per year would have been necessary to maintain the full network of 24 satellites . However , in the financially difficult period of 1989 – 1999 , the space program ' s funding was cut by 80 % and Russia consequently found itself unable to afford this launch rate . After the full complement was achieved in December 1995 , there were no further launches until December 1999 . As a result , the constellation reached its lowest point of just 6 operational satellites in 2001 . As a prelude to demilitarisation , responsibility of the program was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to Russia ' s civilian space agency Roscosmos . Renewed efforts and modernization . In the 2000s , under Vladimir Putin ' s presidency , the Russian economy recovered and state finances improved considerably . Putin himself took special interest in GLONASS and the system ' s restoration was made one of the government ' s top priorities . For this purpose , on August 2001 , the Federal Targeted Program " Global Navigation System " 2002 – 2011 ( Government Decision No . 587 ) was launched . The program was given a budget of $ 420 million and aimed at restoring the full constellation by 2009 . On 10 December 2003 , the second generation satellite design , GLONASS - M , was launched for the first time . It had a slightly larger mass than the baseline GLONASS , standing at 1 , 415 kg , but it had double the original ' s lifetime , decreasing the required replacement rate by 50 % . The new satellite also had better accuracy and ability to broadcast two extra civilian signals . In 2006 , Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov ordered one of the signals ( with an accuracy of 30 m ) to be made available to civilian users . Putin , however , was not satisfied with this , and demanded that the whole system should be made fully available to everyone . Consequently , on 18 May 2007 , all restrictions were lifted . The accurate , formerly military - only signal with a precision of 10 m , has since then been freely available to civilian users . During the middle of the first decade of 21st century , the Russian economy boomed , resulting in substantial increases in the country ' s space budget . In 2007 , the financing of the GLONASS program was increased considerably ; its budget was more than doubled . While in 2006 the GLONASS had received $ 181 million from the federal budget , in 2007 the amount was increased to $ 380 million . In the end , 140 . 1 billion rubles ( $ 4 . 7 billion ) were spent on the program 2001 – 2011 , making it Roscosmos ' largest project and consuming a third of its 2010 budget of 84 . 5 billion rubles . From 2012 to 2020 on GLONASS from Russian budget allocated 320 billion rubles ( 10 billion USD ) . Restoring full capacity . In June 2008 , the system consisted of 16 satellites , 12 of which were fully operational at the time . At this point , Roscosmos aimed at having a full constellation of 24 satellites in orbit by 2010 , one year later than previously planned . In September 2008 , Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree allocating additional 67 billion rubles ( 2 . 6 billion USD ) to GLONASS from the federal budget . Promoting commercial use . Although the GLONASS constellation has reached global coverage , its commercialisation , especially development of the user segment , has been lacking compared to the American GPS system . For example , the first commercial Russian - made GLONASS navigation device for cars , Glospace SGK - 70 , was introduced in 2007 , but it was much bigger and more costly than similar GPS receivers . In late 2010 , there were only a handful of GLONASS receivers on the market , and few of them were meant for ordinary consumers . To improve the situation , the Russian government has been actively promoting GLONASS for civilian use . To improve development of the user segment , on August 11 , 2010 , Sergei Ivanov announced a plan to introduce a 25 % import duty on all GPS - capable devices , including mobile phones , unless they are compatible with GLONASS . As well , the government is planning to force all car manufacturers in Russia to make cars with GLONASS starting from 2011 . This will affect all car makers , including foreign brands like Ford and Toyota , which have car assembly facilities in Russia . GPS and phone baseband chips from major vendors ST - Ericsson , Broadcom and Qualcomm all support GLONASS in combination with GPS . In April 2011 , Sweden ' s Swepos , a national network of satellite reference stations which provides data for real - time positioning with meter accuracy , became the first known foreign company to use GLONASS . Smartphones and Tablets also saw implementation of GLONASS support in 2011 with devices released that year from Xiaomi Tech Company ( Xiaomi Phone 2 ) , Sony Ericsson , Samsung ( the Google Nexus 10 in late 2012 ) , Asus , Apple ( iPhone 4S and iPad Mini in late 2012 ) and HTC adding support for the system allowing increased accuracy and lock on speed in difficult conditions . Finishing the constellation . Russia ' s aim of finishing the constellation in 2010 suffered a setback when a December 2010 launch of three GLONASS - M satellites failed . The Proton - M rocket itself performed flawlessly , but the upper stage Blok D M3 ( a new version which was to make its maiden flight ) was loaded with too much fuel due to a sensor failure . As a result , the upper stage and the three satellites crashed into the Pacific Ocean . Kommersant estimated that the launch failure cost up to $ 160 million . Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a full audit of the entire program and an investigation into the failure . Following the mishap , Roscosmos activated two reserve satellites and decided to make the first improved GLONASS - K satellite , to be launched in February 2011 , part of the operational constellation instead of mainly for testing as was originally planned . This would bring the total number of satellites to 23 , obtaining almost complete worldwide coverage . The GLONASS - K 2 was originally scheduled to be launched by 2013 , however by 2012 was not expected to be launched until 2015 . In 2010 , President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to prepare a new federal targeted program for GLONASS , covering the years 2012 – 2020 . The original 2001 program is scheduled to end in 2011 . On 22 June 2011 , Roscosmos revealed that the agency was looking for a funding of 402 billion rubles ( $ 14 . 35 billion ) for the program . The funds would be spent on maintaining the satellite constellation , on developing and maintaining navigational maps as well as on sponsoring supplemental technologies to make GLONASS more attractive to users . On 2 October 2011 the 24th satellite of the system , a GLONASS - M , was successfully launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome and is now in service . This made the GLONASS constellation fully restored , for the first time since 1996 . On 5 November 2011 the Proton - M booster successfully put three GLONASS - M units in final orbit . On Monday 28 November 2011 , a Soyuz rocket , launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome Space Centre , placed a single GLONASS - M satellite into orbit into Plane 3 . On 26 April 2013 a single GLONASS - M satellite was delivered to the orbit by Soyuz rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome , restoring the constellation to 24 operational satellites , the minimum to provide global coverage . On 2 July 2013 a Proton - M rocket , carrying 3 GLONASS - M satellites , crashed during takeoff from Baikonur Cosmodrome . It veered off the course just after leaving the pad and plunged into the ground nose first . The rocket employed a DM - 03 booster , for the first time since the December 2010 launch , when the vehicle had also failed , resulting in a loss of another 3 satellites . System description . GLONASS is a global satellite navigation system , providing real time position and velocity determination for military and civilian users . The satellites are located in middle circular orbit at 19 , 100 km altitude with a 64 . 8 degree inclination and a period of 11 hours and 15 minutes . GLONASS ' orbit makes it especially suited for usage in high latitudes ( north or south ) , where getting a GPS signal can be problematic . The constellation operates in three orbital planes , with 8 evenly spaced satellites on each . A fully operational constellation with global coverage consists of 24 satellites , while 18 satellites are necessary for covering the territory of Russia . To get a position fix the receiver must be in the range of at least four satellites . FDMA signals . GLONASS satellites transmit two types of signal : a standard precision ( SP ) signal and an obfuscated high precision ( HP ) signal . The signals use similar DSSS encoding and binary phase - shift keying ( BPSK ) modulation as in GPS signals . All GLONASS satellites transmit the same code as their SP signal ; however each transmits on a different frequency using a 15 - channel frequency division multiple access ( FDMA ) technique spanning either side from 1602 . 0 MHz , known as the L1 band . The center frequency is 1602 MHz + " n " × 0 . 5625 MHz , where " n " is a satellite ' s frequency channel number ( " n " = −7 , −6 , −5 . . . 0 . . . , 6 , previously " n " = 0 . . . , 13 ) . Signals are transmitted in a 38° cone , using right - hand circular polarization , at an EIRP between 25 to 27 dBW ( 316 to 500 watts ) . Note that the 24 - satellite constellation is accommodated with only 15 channels by using identical frequency channels to support antipodal ( opposite side of planet in orbit ) satellite pairs , as these satellites will never be in view of an earth - based user at the same time . The L2 signals use the same FDMA as the L1 band signals , but transmit straddling 1246 MHz with the center frequency determined by the equation 1246 MHz + " n " ×0 . 4375 MHz , where " n " spans the same range as for L1 . Other details of the HP signal have not been disclosed . At peak efficiency , the SP signal offers horizontal positioning accuracy within 5 – 10 meters , vertical positioning within 15 meters , a velocity vector measuring within 10 cm / s , and timing within 200 ns , all based on measurements from four first - generation satellites simultaneously ; newer satellites such as GLONASS - M improve on this . Starting with Glonass - M , an additional civil reference signal is broadcast in the L2 band with an identical SP code to the L1 band signal . This is available from all satellites in the constellation , except satellite number 795 which is the last of the inferior original GLONASS design , and one partially inoperable GLONASS - M satellite which is broadcasting only in the L1 band . ( See www . glonass - ianc . rsa . ru for daily updates on constellation status . ) GLONASS uses a coordinate datum named " PZ - 90 " ( Earth Parameters 1990 – Parametry Zemli 1990 ) , in which the precise location of the North Pole is given as an average of its position from 1900 to 1905 . This is in contrast to the GPS ' s coordinate datum , WGS 84 , which uses the location of the North Pole in 1984 . As of September 17 , 2007 the PZ - 90 datum has been updated to version PZ - 90 . 02 which differ from WGS 84 by less than in any given direction . The open SP signal is generated with modulo - 2 addition ( XOR ) of 511 kbit / s pseudo - random ranging code , 50 bit / s navigation message , and an auxiliary 100 Hz meander sequence ( Manchester code ) , all generated using a single time / frequency oscillator . The pseudo - random code is generated with a 9 - stage shift register operating with a period of 1 ms . The navigational message is modulated at 50 bits per second . The superframe of the open signal is 7500 bits long and consits of 5 frames of 30 seconds , taking 150 seconds ( 2 . 5 minutes ) to transmit the continuous message . Each frame is 1500 bits long and consists of 15 strings of 100 bits ( 2 seconds for each string ) , with 85 bits ( 1 . 7 seconds ) for data and check - sum bits , and 15 bits ( 0 . 3 seconds ) for time mark . Strings 1 - 4 provide immediate data for the transmitting satellite , and are repeated every frame ; the data include ephemeris , clock and frequency offsets , and satellite status . Strings 5 - 15 provide non - immediate data ( i . e . almanac ) for each satellite in the constellation , with frames I - IV each describing 5 satellites , and frame V describing remaining 4 satellites . The ephemerides are updated every 30 minutes using data from the Ground Control segment ; they use Earth Centred Earth Fixed ( ECEF ) Cartesian coordinates in position and velocity , and include lunisolar acceleration parameters . The almanac uses modified Keplerian parameters and is updated daily . The more accurate HP signal is available for authorized users , such as the Russian Military , yet unlike the US P ( Y ) code which is modulated by an encrypting W code , the GLONASS P codes are broadcast in the clear using only ' security through obscurity ' . Use of this signal bears risk however as the modulation ( and therefore the tracking strategy ) of the data bits on the L2P code has recently changed from unmodulated to 250 bit / s burst at random intervals . The L1P code is modulated at 50 bit / s without a Manchester meander code . The HP signal is broadcast in phase quadrature with the SP signal , effectively sharing the same carrier wave as the SP signal , but with a ten - times - higher bandwidth than the SP signal . The message format of the high precision signal remains unpublished , although attempts at reverse - engineering indicate that the superframe is composed of 72 frames , each containing 5 strings of 100 bits and taking 10 seconds to transmit , with total length of 36 000 bits or 720 seconds ( 12 minutes ) for the whole navigational message . The additional data are seemingly allocated to critical Luni - Solar acceleration parameters and clock correction terms . CDMA signals . Since 2008 , new CDMA signals are being researched for use with GLONASS . According to preliminary statements from GLONASS developers , there will be three open and two restricted CDMA signals . The open signal L3OC is centered at 1202 . 25 MHz and uses BPSK ( 10 ) modulation for both data and pilot channels ; the ranging code transmits at 10 . 23 million chips per second , modulated onto the carrier frequency using QPSK with in - phase data and quadrature pilot . The data is error - coded with 5 - bit Barker code and the pilot with 10 - bit Neuman - Hoffman code . Open L1OC and restricted L1SC signals are centered at 1600 . 995 MHz , and open L2OC and restricted L2SC signals are centered at 1248 . 06 MHz , overlapping with GLONASS FDMA signals . Open signals L1OC and L2OC use time - division multiplexing to transmit pilot and data signals , with BPSK ( 1 ) modulation for data and BOC ( 1 , 1 ) modulation for pilot ; wide - band restricted signals L1SC and L2SC use BOC ( 5 , 2 . 5 ) modulation for both data and pilot , transmitted in quadrature phase to the open signals ; this places peak signal strength away from the center frequency of narrow - band open signals . Binary phase - shift keying ( BPSK ) is used by standard GPS and GLONASS signals , however both BPSK and quadrature phase - shift keying ( QPSK ) can be considered as variations of quadrature amplitude modulation ( QAM ) , specifically QAM - 2 and QAM - 4 . Binary offset carrier ( BOC ) is the modulation used by Galileo , modernized GPS , and COMPASS . The navigational message of the L3OC signal is transmitted at 100 bit / s . The navigational frame is 15 seconds ( 1500 bits ) long and includes 5 strings of symbols each taking 3 seconds ( 300 bits ) ; a frame contains ephemerides for the current satellite and part of the almanac for three satellites . The superframe consists of 8 navigational frames , so it takes 120 seconds ( 2 minutes ) to transmit 12000 bits of almanac for all current 24 satellites ; in the future , the superframe will be expanded to 10 frames or 15000 bits ( 150 seconds or 2 . 5 minutes ) of data to cover full 30 satellites . The system time marker is transmitted with each string ; UTC leap second correction is achieved by shortening or lengthening ( zero - padding ) the final string of the day by one second ( 100 bits ) , with shortened strings being discarded by the receiver . Glonass - K1 test satellite launched in 2011 introduced L3OC signal . The final Glonass - M satellites launched in 2014 - 2017 will also include L3OC signal . Glonass - K2 satellites , to be launched in 2015 , will feature a full suite of modernized CDMA signals in the existing L1 and L2 bands , which includes L1SC , L1OC , L2SC , and L2OC , as well as the L3OC signal . Glonass - K2 should gradually replace existing satellites starting from 2017 , when Glonass - M launches will cease . Glonass - KM satellites will be launched by 2025 . Additional open signals are being studied for these satellites , based on the same frequencies and formats as GPS signals L5 and L1C and corresponding Galileo / COMPASS signals E1 , E5a and E5b . These signals include : Such an arrangement will allow easier and cheaper implementation of multi - standard GNSS receivers . With the introduction of CDMA signals , the constellation will be expanded to 30 active satellites by 2025 ; this may require eventual deprecation of FDMA signals . The new satellites will be deployed into three additional planes , bringing the total to six planes from the current three , aided by System for Differential Correction and Monitoring ( SDCM ) which is a GNSS augmentation system based on a network of ground - based control stations and communication satellites Luch 5A and Luch 5B . Additional satellites may use Molniya orbit , Tundra orbit , geosynchronous orbit , or inclined orbit to offer increased regional availability , similar to Japanese QZSS system . Satellites . The main contractor of the GLONASS program is Joint Stock Company Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems ( formerly called NPO - PM ) . The company , located in Zheleznogorsk , is the designer of all GLONASS satellites , in cooperation with the Institute for Space Device Engineering ( ) and the Russian Institute of Radio Navigation and Time . Serial production of the satellites is accomplished by the company PC Polyot in Omsk . Over the three decades of development , the satellite designs have gone through numerous improvements , and can be divided into three generations : the original GLONASS ( since 1982 ) , GLONASS - M ( since 2003 ) and GLONASS - K ( since 2011 ) . Each GLONASS satellite has a GRAU designation 11F654 , and each of them also has the military " Cosmos - NNNN " designation . First generation . The true first generation of GLONASS ( also called Uragan ) satellites were all 3 - axis stabilized vehicles , generally weighing 1 , 250 kg and were equipped with a modest propulsion system to permit relocation within the constellation . Over time they were upgraded to Block IIa , IIb , and IIv vehicles , with each block containing evolutionary improvements . Six Block IIa satellites were launched in 1985 – 1986 with improved time and frequency standards over the prototypes , and increased frequency stability . These spacecraft also demonstrated a 16 - month average operational lifetime . Block IIb spacecraft , with a 2 - year design lifetimes , appeared in 1987 , of which a total of 12 were launched , but half were lost in launch vehicle accidents . The six spacecraft that made it to orbit worked well , operating for an average of nearly 22 months . Block IIv was the most prolific of the first generation . Used exclusively from 1988 to 2000 , and continued to be included in launches through 2005 , a total of 25 satellites were launched . The design life was three years , however numerous spacecraft exceeded this , with one late model lasting 68 months . Block II satellites were typically launched three at a time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using Proton - K Blok - DM - 2 or Proton - K Briz - M boosters . The only exception was when , on two launches , an Etalon geodetic reflector satellite was substituted for a GLONASS satellite . Second generation . The second generation of satellites , known as Glonass - M , were developed beginning in 1990 and first launched in 2003 . These satellites possess a substantially increased lifetime of seven years and weigh slightly more at 1 , 480 kg . They are approximately in diameter and high , with a solar array span of for an electrical power generation capability of 1600 watts at launch . The aft payload structure houses 12 primary antennas for L - band transmissions . Laser corner - cube reflectors are also carried to aid in precise orbit determination and geodetic research . On - board cesium clocks provide the local clock source . A total of fourteen second generation satellites were launched through the end of 2007 . As with the previous generation , the second generation spacecraft were launched in triplets using Proton - K Blok - DM - 2 or Proton - K Briz - M boosters . Third generation . GLONASS - K is a substantial improvement of the previous generation : it is the first unpressurised GLONASS satellite with a much reduced mass ( 750 kg versus 1 , 450 kg of GLONASS - M ) . It has an operational lifetime of 10 years , compared to the 7 - year lifetime of the second generation GLONASS - M . It will transmit more navigation signals to improve the system ' s accuracy , including new CDMA signals in the L3 and L5 bands which will use modulation similar to modernized GPS , Galileo and Compass . The new satellite ' s advanced equipment — made solely from Russian components — will allow the doubling of GLONASS ' accuracy . As with the previous satellites , these are 3 - axis stabilized , nadir pointing with dual solar arrays . The first GLONASS - K satellite was successfully launched on 26 February 2011 . Due to their weight reduction , GLONASS - K spacecraft can be launched in pairs from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome launch site using the substantially lower cost Soyuz - 2 . 1b boosters or in six - at - once from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using Proton - K Briz - M launch vehicles . Ground control . The ground control segment of GLONASS is almost entirely located within former Soviet Union territory , except for a station in Brasilia , Brazil . The Ground Control Center and Time Standards is located in Moscow and the telemetry and tracking stations are in Saint Petersburg , Ternopol , Eniseisk , and Komsomolsk - na - Amure . Receivers . Septentrio , Topcon , C - Nav , JAVAD , Magellan Navigation , Novatel , Leica Geosystems , Hemisphere GPS and Trimble Inc produce GNSS receivers making use of GLONASS . NPO Progress describes a receiver called " GALS - A1 " which combines GPS and GLONASS reception . SkyWave Mobile Communications manufactures an Inmarsat - based satellite communications terminal that uses both GLONASS and GPS . As of 2011 , some of the latest receivers in the Garmin eTrex line also support GLONASS ( along with GPS ) . Garmin also produce a standalone Bluetooth receiver , the GLO , which combines GPS , WAAS and GLONASS . Various smartphones from 2011 onwards have integrated GLONASS capability , including devices from Xiaomi Tech Company ( Xiaomi Phone 2 ) , Sony Ericsson , ZTE , Huawei , Samsung ( Galaxy Note , Galaxy Note II , Galaxy S3 , Galaxy S4 ) , Apple ( iPhone 4S , iPhone 5 , iPhone 5S ) , iPad Mini ( LTE model only ) and iPad ( 3rd generation , 4G model only ) ) , HTC , LG , Motorola and Nokia . Status . Availability . , the GLONASS constellation status is : The system requires 18 satellites for continuous navigation services covering the entire territory of the Russian Federation , and 24 satellites to provide services worldwide . The GLONASS system covers 100 % of worldwide territory . Accuracy . According to Russian System of Differentional Correction and Monitoring ' s data , , precisions of GLONASS navigation definitions ( for p = 0 . 95 ) for latitude and longitude were 4 . 46 — 7 . 38 m with mean number of navigation space vehicles ( NSV ) equals 7 — 8 ( depending on station ) . In comparison , the same time precisions of GPS navigation definitions were 2 . 00 — 8 . 76 m with mean number of NSV equals 6 — 11 ( depending on station ) . Civilian GLONASS used alone is therefore very slightly less accurate than GPS . On high latitudes ( north or south ) , GLONASS ' accuracy is better than that of GPS due to the orbital position of the satellites . Some modern receivers are able to use both GLONASS and GPS satellites together , providing greatly improved coverage in urban canyons and giving a very fast time to fix due to over 50 satellites being available . In indoor , urban canyon or mountainous areas , accuracy can be greatly improved over using GPS alone . For using both navigation systems simultaneously , precisions of GLONASS / GPS navigation definitions were 2 . 37 — 4 . 65 m with mean number of NSV equals 14 — 19 ( depends on station ) . In May 2009 , Anatoly Perminov the then director of the Russian Federal Space Agency stated that actions were undertaken to expand GLONASS ' s constellation and to improve the ground segment in order to increase the navigation definition of GLONASS to an accuracy of 2 . 8 m by 2011 . In particular , the latest satellite design , GLONASS - K has the ability to double the system ' s accuracy once introduced . The system ' s ground segment is also to undergo improvements . As of early 2012 , sixteen positioning ground stations are under construction in Russia and in the Antarctic at the Bellingshausen and Novolazarevskaya bases . New stations will be built around the southern hemisphere from Brazil to Indonesia . Together , these improvements are expected to bring GLONASS ' accuracy to 0 . 6 m or better by 2020 .