Russian Space Systems company (RSS, part of Roscosmos) has completed forming the ground infrastructure of a high-precision complex for wide-area functional addition of global satellite navigation systems based on the development of a differential correction and monitoring system - a network of 53 unified measurement stations has been created.
The network of stations is designed to receive information from navigation satellites, as well as to process and provide corrective data to customers in Russia and the CIS countries. In total, 46 stations are currently located in Russia, with 18 located at the facilities of PJSC Rostelecom branches. The last station of ground infrastructure has recently entered operation in Yekaterinburg. Four stations have been built in the CIS countries and three in Antarctica.
The high-precision complex of wide-area functional addition to global satellite navigation systems was created at the order of Roscosmos as an important element in improving the GLONASS system accuracy. All navigation information received by the stations is transmitted to processing centers.
Vladimir Denezhkin, RSS Deputy General Designer for Ground Systems and Civilian Complexes: ‘The wide-area functional addition of the differential correction and monitoring system developed by the RSS can significantly increase the efficiency of the navigation services complex. With the help of the wide-area augmentation, positioning errors are reduced, and it becomes more reliable.’
Unified measurement collection stations receive open radio navigation signals from GLONASS, signals from foreign satellite navigation systems and provide the customers with additional information to improve the accuracy and reliability of determining the speed of movement, the accuracy of timing, as well as coordinates. The output information is brought to the customers through special channels via geostationary communication satellites and via the Internet. The stations are equipped with uninterruptible power supply systems and can operate in an autonomous mode for a long time.
Satellite systems of differential corrections SBAS (Space Based Augmentation Systems), which include the Russian system of differential corrections and monitoring, are actively developing today all over the world. There are four foreign operating systems of this type - WAAS (USA), EGNOS (Europe), MSAS (Japan), GAGAN (India), but only the Russian system works with data from GLONASS and GPS simultaneously, while the rest are focused only on GPS. SBAS are designed to improve the accuracy and integrity control of the positioning of spacecraft in orbit, aircraft and ships, land users with open access navigation radio signals.
SBAS is widely used in aviation - several thousand airfields around the world are already equipped with this system. It complements traditional navigation aids and enables all operations, including lateral and vertical guidance precision approaches. It is expected that the introduction of high-precision positioning in Russia and the CIS countries will give an additional impetus to the development of technologies based on GLONASS in such industries as construction, agriculture (precision farming) and transport, and will also serve to improve the safety of civil aviation.
