A Russian Rokot carrier rocket will take off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia on September 8 to put a Gonets-M satellite into orbit, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Pre-launch preparations are currently being completed at the space center in the Arkhangelsk region, Lt. Col. Alexander Zolotukhin said.
The Gonets-M satellite will be part of Russia's large-scale Glonass satellite navigation system.
Glonass - the Global Navigation Satellite System - is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, and is designed for both military and civilian use. Both systems enable users to determine their positions to within a few meters.
RIA Novosti
