First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Sergey Ivanov
Photo: Sergey Mikheev
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Ivanov Tries GLONASS in Antarctica
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov visited the Novolazarevskaya Scientific Station in Antarctica yesterday. He transferred from his VIP jet to a transport plane in Cape Town, South Africa, and flew an additional six hours to the station from there. Minister of Transport Igor Levitin, Minister of Natural resources Yury Trutnev and president of the United Aviation Construction Corp. Alexey Fedorov accompanied him. his is the second visit to Antarctica by high-placed Russian officials. In January of last year, FSB director Nikolay Patrushev, FSB deputy director Vladimir Pronichev and State Duma member Artur Chilingarov visited the Bellinsghausen station.
Ivanov announced that their arrival marked the first time a plane landing had been made in Antarctica using the Russian GLONASS satellite global navigation system. The Il-76 transport plane was equipped with a receiver for the American GPS system, “but we turned it off and navigated only with GLONASS,” the former defense minister said. Previously, planes had landed in Antarctica using optical navigational methods.
Ivanov has been responsible for the GLONASS project since December 2005, when Russian President Vladimir Putin personally charged him with speeding up its development. He set a deadline of the beginning of this year to have the system working throughout Russia, with 18 satellites, and throughout the work, with 24 satellites, by the end of next year. GLONASS has been funded as a state target program. It received 9.9 billion rubles last year and is scheduled for 10.3 billion rubles this year.
As of yesterday, there were 15 GLONASS satellites operating, and another one undergoing servicing. They provide coverage of 70-92 percent of Russia. Some areas of South Russia lose coverage for up to 7 hours per day. At Novolazarevskaya station yesterday, coverage was available for 21 fours. A source in the Russian space industry said that Ivanov's flight was timed so that additional satellites were in range when he landed, in case one of the four necessary for navigation failed.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 12, 2008
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