Glonass coordinates What is the era of glonass and why is it needed

Flying around our planet, navigation satellites continuously send streams of radio signals to it. These satellites belong to the US Naval Navigation Satellite System (VNMSS), and more recently, the American Global Positioning System (GSM).

Just like the Russian global navigation system GLONASS, Both systems enable ships at sea day and night to determine their coordinates with great accuracy.

The principle of operation of both GSM and GLONASS is based on the fact that on board the ship a special receiver catches radio waves sent by navigation satellites at certain frequencies. Signals from the receiver continuously enter the computer. The computer processes them, supplementing with information about the transmission time of each signal and the position of the navigation satellite in orbit. (Such information gets to the VNMSS satellites from ground-based tracking stations, and the GSM satellites and GLONASS satellites have time and orbit counters on board).

Then the navigation computer on the ship determines the distance between them and the satellite flying in the sky. The computer repeats these calculations at regular intervals and ultimately receives data on latitude and longitude, that is, its coordinates.

Triangulation in GPS and GLONASS

Moving in orbit and sending signals to the Earth at certain intervals (t1-14), the satellite, as it were, forms invisible radio wedges or sectors in the sky. Knowing the length of the arc of the sector and the length of its lateral sides, we can calculate the point where the vertex of the angle of this sector is located. This will be the location of the receiver. It is still necessary to make corrections for the curvature of the earth's surface, as shown in the figure above.

Due to the curvature of the earth's surface, the true position of the ship is slightly different from satellite data. To correct the error, computers build curved lines (parabolas) from altitudes C j and Cn and find the midpoint between them. The intersection point of these heights and parabolas - P gives the true value of the coordinates.

GPS Command Chain

Time signals and orbital data are transmitted to the satellite from a ground-based tracking station (figure above, to the right). The satellite relays these signals to the ship's receiver, and the computer uses them to calculate longitude and latitude.

Satellite tracking stations should determine the greatest distance of the satellite from the Earth’s surface, the average distance, the angle of inclination of its orbit with respect to the Earth’s axis, the lowest point of removal (perigee), the transit time of this point, and other parameters.

GLONASS, the Russian analogue of satellite navigation system (GPS), is one of two global navigation satellite systems currently operating in the world.

It allows you to determine the location (coordinates) and time of the receiver on the surface of the planet.

The principle of operation of the GLONASS satellite system.

This system is based on the use of the signal from spacecraft (satellites) in their work, which for the normal global functioning of the system must be 24, they must rotate in three orbital ones. To cover only the territory of Russia, for reference, only 18 such spacecraft are enough. In addition to the space constellation, for the full operation of GLONASS, correctional stations operate on the surface that transmit corrective data to spacecraft, which improves the accuracy of positioning on Earth.

A bit of history.

I note that what GLONASS is, we heard quite recently, when the leadership of the Russian Federation spoke about the need to create a navigation system that is not inferior to a similar American GPS.

Although in reality the modern Russian navigation satellite system originates in the rather distant 70s of the last century, when they started talking about the need to create such a system to support the armed forces of the USSR. And these were not just words; at the same time, the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee issued corresponding instructions.

The development of this system has come a long and sometimes difficult path. Only in 1995, the constellation of satellites in orbit reached the required number for regular use - 24 pieces.

However, underfunding in subsequent years led to the fact that in 2001 there were only 6 active spacecraft left in space. This situation, the widespread penetration of American GPS and the growing need for a modern navigation system to support its own army led to the deployment of the program, which resulted in the appearance of the GLONASS we are familiar with today. At the same time, this system not only appeared as a closed navigation system, as it was planned under the Soviet Union, but became publicly available.

Comparison with competitors, plans for the future.

As for accuracy, at the moment GLONASS loses a little in accuracy to its main and so far the only competitor. So, GPS accuracy is characterized by 2-4 meters, while in GLONASS it is 3-6 meters. Improving the accuracy in positioning the latter was repeatedly stated by its creators, while it was not possible to achieve it. Although by 2015 it is planned to increase the GLONASS accuracy to 1.5 meters, and by 2020 to reach a minimum of 0.6 meters.

And although the system was created primarily for the armed forces, today it is available for civilian use at no cost. Moreover, the presence of the possibility of receiving data from GLONASS in modern mobile gadgets and civilian navigation devices is constantly growing. Chips that allow you to determine the coordinates on the basis of two global satellite navigation systems (GPS / GLONASS) are currently found in the products of such global companies as:

• Apple
• Nokia
• Samsung
• Sony
• Garmin and many others.

Additional features, plus ERA-GLONASS, what is it and how will it work?

In addition, navigation systems for controlling traffic on the basis of GLONASS data are successfully used in public and public transport. The development of a program has also already begun on the creation in Russia of a safety and emergency response system for accidents and emergencies ERA-GLONASS, which will automatically receive appropriate signals and send the necessary assistance, if so, by users of the system according to known coordinates.

GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System

Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASSit is designed to determine the location, speed, as well as the exact time of marine, air, land and other types of consumers.

GLONASS development history

The development of the domestic navigation satellite system, as is commonly believed, began with the launch in the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957 of the first artificial Earth satellite. Use satellites for navigation in 1957 was first proposed by prof. V.S. Shebshaevich. This opportunity was discovered by him while studying the applications of radio astronomy methods in piloting aircraft. After that, a number of Soviet institutes conducted studies on improving the accuracy of navigation definitions, ensuring globality, round-the-clock use and independence from weather conditions. All of them were used in 1963 during the development work on the creation of the first domestic low-orbit system "Cicada". The first Russian navigation satellite Cosmos-192 (SC Cyclone) was launched into orbit on November 27, 1967. It provided continuous emission of a radio navigation signal at frequencies of 150 and 400 MHz during the entire time of active existence.

The Cicada system was commissioned with four satellites in 1979. Navigation satellites were launched into circular orbits with a height of 1000 km, with an inclination of 83 ° and a uniform distribution of planes along the equator. The system allowed the consumer, on average, every 1.5–2 hours to enter into radio contact with one of the satellites and determine the planned coordinates of their place with a navigation session lasting up to 5-6 minutes. The Cicada navigation system used unrequited measurements of the range from the consumer to the navigation satellites. Along with improving the on-board satellite systems and navigational navigation equipment, serious attention was paid to improving the accuracy of determining and predicting the parameters of the orbits of navigation satellites.

Subsequently, the cicada system satellites were equipped with receiving measuring equipment for detecting distressed objects that are equipped with special beacons. These signals are received by the satellites of the Cicada system and relayed to special ground stations, where the exact coordinates of emergency objects (ships, aircraft, etc.) are calculated. The Cicada satellites, equipped with the equipment for detecting distressed satellites, form the Cospas systems. Together with the US-French-Canadian Sarsat system, they are part of a single search and rescue service.

The successful operation of low-orbit satellite navigation systems by marine consumers has attracted widespread attention to satellite navigation. There was a need to create a universal navigation system that meets the requirements of all potential consumers: aviation, navy, land vehicles and spacecraft. Low-orbit systems could not fulfill the requirements of all these classes of consumers by virtue of the principles laid down in the basis of their construction. A promising second-generation navigation satellite system was supposed to provide the consumer at any time the opportunity to determine three spatial coordinates, velocity vector and exact time.

The structure of the satellite system was chosen: the orbit height of the navigation satellites was 20 thousand km, their total number was 24 devices. Two problems of creating a high-orbit navigation system were solved. The first problem is the mutual synchronization of satellite time scales to the nearest billionths of a second (nanoseconds). This problem was solved by installing highly stable onboard cesium frequency standards on satellites with a relative instability of 1 * 10 -13 and a ground hydrogen standard with a relative instability of 1 * 10 -14, as well as creating ground-based means of comparing scales with an error of 3-5 ns. The second problem was the high-precision determination and prediction of the parameters of the orbits of navigation satellites. It was solved, taking into account factors of the second order of smallness, such as light pressure, uneven rotation of the Earth and the movement of its poles, as well as excluding actions on the satellite in flight of reactive forces caused by leaky propulsion systems and gas separation of coating materials.

Flight tests of a high-orbit domestic navigation system, called GLONASSwere launched in October 1982 with the launch of the Cosmos-1413 satellite. System GLONASS  It was taken into trial operation in 1993. In 1995, an orbital constellation of the full composition (24 satellites) was deployed and regular operation began. The system allows for continuous global navigation of all types of consumers with various levels of quality requirements for navigation support.

Reduced funding for the space industry in the 1990s led to the degradation of the orbital constellation GLONASSreducing its output effect. In 2001, in order to maintain and develop the system, the President and the Government of the Russian Federation approved a number of policy documents, the main of which is the federal target program “Global Navigation System”.

The general designer of the GLONASS global navigation system is Sergey Nikolaevich Karutin (TASS, September 21, 2015).

The composition of the GLONASS system

System GLONASS  consists of three subsystems:

• subsystems of spacecraft (PKA);
• monitoring and control subsystems (PKU);
• consumer navigation equipment (NAP).

Subsystem spacecraft system GLONASS  consists of 24 satellites located in circular orbits with an altitude of 19100 km, an inclination of 64.8 ° and a period of 11 hours 15 minutes in three orbital planes. Orbital planes are separated in longitude by 120 °. In each orbital plane, there are 8 satellites with a uniform shift in the argument of latitude 45 °. In addition, in the planes, the position of the satellites is shifted relative to each other by the latitude argument by 15 °. Such a PKA configuration allows for continuous and global coverage of the earth's surface and near-Earth space with a navigation field. As a rule, it is required that at least 3-5 navigational spacecraft (NSC) are in the consumer’s area of \u200b\u200bvisibility. In addition to the operating spacecraft, reserve satellites are in orbit, which can be promptly introduced to replace failed ones.

The control and management subsystem consists of a system control center GLONASS  and a network of measuring, control and monitoring stations dispersed throughout Russia. The PKU's tasks include monitoring the correct functioning of the PKA, continuously updating the parameters of the orbits and issuing time programs, control commands and navigation information to the satellites.

Consumer navigation equipment consists of navigation receivers and processing devices for receiving satellite navigation signals GLONASSand calculating your own coordinates, speed and time.

Principle of operation

System satellites GLONASS  Two types of navigation signals are continuously emitted: standard-accuracy navigation signal (ST) in the L1 band (1.6 GHz) and high-precision navigation signal (VT) in the L1 and L2 bands (1.2 GHz). The information provided by the navigation signal ST is available to all consumers on an ongoing and global basis and provides, when using receivers GLONASS, the ability to determine:

• horizontal coordinates;
• vertical coordinates;
• components of the velocity vector;
• exact time.

The accuracy of the determination can be significantly improved by using the differential navigation method and / or additional special measurement methods.

To determine the spatial coordinates and exact time, it is required to receive and process navigation signals from at least 4 satellites GLONASS. When receiving navigation radio signals GLONASS  The receiver, using well-known radio engineering methods, measures distances to visible satellites and measures their speed.

Simultaneously with the measurements in the receiver, the time stamps and digital information contained in each navigation radio signal are automatically processed. Digital information describes the position of a given satellite in space and time (ephemeris) with respect to a single time scale system and in a geocentric related Cartesian coordinate system. In addition, digital information describes the position of other satellites of the system (almanac) in the form of Keplerian elements of their orbits and contains some other parameters. The measurement results and the received digital information are the source data for solving the navigation problem of determining the coordinates and motion parameters. The navigation problem is solved automatically in the computing device of the receiver, using the well-known least squares method. As a result of the decision, three coordinates of the consumer’s location, the speed of his movement are determined, and the consumer’s time scale is linked to the high-precision Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) scale.

Launches

• 1982 - 1993 53 spacecraft (SC) GLONASS, Baikonur Cosmodrome
• 1994 - 1995 18 KA GLONASS
• 1996 - 1997 no launches
• December 25, 2002 3 SC GLONASS
• December 10, 2003 2 GLONASS spacecraft and 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft
• December 26, 2004 2 GLONASS spacecraft and 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft
• December 25, 2005 1 GLONASS spacecraft and 2 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur launch site, Proton-K booster rocket. Successful Result
• December 25, 2006. 3 SC GLONASS-M, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Proton-K LV. Successful Result
• October 26, 2007 3 SC GLONASS-M, Komodrom Baikonur, LV Proton-K. Successful Result
• December 25, 2007. 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur cosmodrome, Proton-K rocket. Successful Result
• September 25, 2008 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur cosmodrome, Proton-M launch vehicle. Successful Result
• December 25, 2008 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur cosmodrome, Proton-M launch vehicle. Successful Result
• March 02, 2010 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur cosmodrome, Proton-M launch vehicle. Successful Result
• September 02, 2010 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur cosmodrome, Proton-M launch vehicle. Successful Result
• December 05, 2010 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur launch site, Proton-M launch vehicle. Emergency start
• February 26, 2011 1 GLONASS-K spacecraft, Plesetsk launch site, Soyuz-2-1B launch vehicle. Successful Result
• November 04, 2011 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur launch site, Proton-M launch vehicle. Successful Result
• April 26, 2013 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Plesetsk launch site, Soyuz-2-1B launch vehicle. Successful Result
• July 02, 2013. 3 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Baikonur Cosmodrome. LV Proton-M. Emergency start
• March 24, 2014 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Plesetsk launch site. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result
• June 14, 2014. 1 GLONASS-M spacecraft, Plesetsk launch site. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result
• December 01, 2014 1 GLONASS-K spacecraft, Plesetsk launch site. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result
• February 07, 2016 1KA GLONASS-M, Plesetsk cosmodrome. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result
• May 29, 2016 1KA GLONASS-M, Plesetsk Cosmodrome. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result
• September 22, 2017 1KA GLONASS-M, Plesetsk Cosmodrome. LV Soyuz-2.1b. Successful Result

The use of GNSS GLONASS

The main areas of application GLONASS  by transport:

• land navigation
• road and rail transport
• maritime navigation
• air navigation
• space navigation

With the improvement of global navigation satellite systems, new areas of their application appear, which, in turn, require a further increase in the accuracy, availability, efficiency and reliability of navigation services:

traffic management, including toll roads, payment of parking lots, analysis of traffic accidents, determination of insured events, organization of automatic control of road, construction and agricultural machinery, control of “deformation” of engineering structures, synchronization of communication systems, banking transaction systems, energy systems, oil and gas transportation systems, high-precision monitoring of the movement of the earth's surface, basic scientific research and much more.

GLONASS today

Currently, the orbital constellation consists of 25 spacecraft, of which:

• 24 spacecraft are used for their intended purpose
• 0 spacecraft at the stage of entry into the system
• 0 spacecraft temporarily put out for maintenance
• 0 GLONASS-M spacecraft are under study by the Chief Designer of the system
• 0 SC is in orbital reserve
• 1 spacecraft is at the stage of flight design tests

At the same time, 12 satellites from the constellation operate outside the period of active existence.

Having recently purchased a brand new car, I saw a button with the SOS inscription on the ceiling near the lighting plafond and asked a question, what is this? In the instructions from the car it was said that this is the call button for the emergency response system ERA-GLONASS. And that’s all, that’s all. How does it work, how is it serviced, why is it? Let's figure it out.

"ERA-GLONASS" is the Russian state emergency response system for accidents. The system was put into commercial operation on January 1, 2015. This is the world's first mandatory and free emergency call system.

The analogue of the ERA-GLONASS system is the pan-European eCall system, with which the ERA-GLONASS system provides technological compatibility.

According to statistics, the majority of accident victims do not die at the very moment of the accident, but after. help comes too late. It is assumed that the introduction of the system will lead to a reduction in response time in accidents and other emergencies, which will reduce mortality and injuries on the roads and improve the safety of freight and passenger traffic.

What is installed in the car

The ERA-GLONASS module is built into each car. This is a stripped-down cell phone with one SOS button and sensors. Like any smartphone, it has its own SIM card, antenna, 3G modem, microphone, speaker and GPS / GLONASS navigation module.

How the ERA-GLONASS system works

1. Activation of shock or rollover sensors in the passenger compartment or pressing the SOS panic button
2. Definition of coordinates by the automobile terminal
3. Transfer of information about an accident through a cellular network to the center of the ERA-GLONASS system
4. The ERA-GLONASS operator calls back to the device and tries to find out what happened.
5. If no one answered the operator or it is clear that the call is not false, then the transfer of the call to operational rescue services

According to the current regulations, the ambulance must arrive at the place within 20 minutes.

What is included in the transmitted signal

• exact coordinates of the scene;
• number of passengers strapped in;
• accident data: speed before a collision, magnitude of overloads;
• vehicle data: VIN number, color of the car, type of fuel - gasoline, diesel fuel or gas.

How is the signal transmitted

Sending and calls are realized through the mobile operators “MTS”, “Beeline” or “Megafon” through the most accessible of them in the area. It is stated that the module is able to use any available cellular network. The ERA-GLONASS system includes the infrastructure of the virtual operator MVNO, which will be connected to all operators to ensure the highest achievable reliability of emergency call transmission.

The message that the device sends is short and weighs about 140 bytes, so the system will be able to send it even with poor call quality. On average, it takes about 10 seconds to connect to a mobile network and transfer data to a call center. In conditions of poor communication, ERA-GLONASS will make 10 attempts to transfer data, and then independently send a message via SMS.

Misconceptions and Myths

The first and most important misconception is that ERA-GLONASS is part of the GLONASS global navigation satellite system. This is not so - the ERA-GLONASS system uses GLONASS and American GPS to determine the location of the emergency vehicle. This allows you to increase the accuracy of determination in places where satellite coverage of one of the systems is insufficient. Moreover, the location is performed only in the event of an accident or manual call SOS.

The second misconception - supposedly the system monitors all movements of the car. The operation of the system for continuous tracking (like a tracker) is not provided for by the project standards. Location data would have to be regularly sent over cellular networks and it is unlikely that they would be carried out for free. Although considering what Snowden told about global global surveillance, this is probably not a delusion \u003d)

What will happen on January 1, 2017

From January 1, 2017, in accordance with the technical regulation of the Customs Union “On the safety of wheeled vehicles”, adopted by Decision of the Customs Union Commission dated December 9, 2011 No. 877, a requirement is introduced for equipping vehicles in circulation with a call device for emergency services.

Starting January 1, 2017, the vehicle’s passport in the “Special Marks” section shall be obligatorily entered with information about the emergency call service device for newly issued vehicles.

But there is an important clarification - OTTS (type approval of a vehicle) is issued for a period of three years. If the manufacturer or importer receives a certificate for the new model on December 31, 2016, then such a machine can be sold on the market of the Customs Union without ERA-GLONASS until the end of 2019.
The document can also be extended if the model is modified, and for the same 3 years.

The first production car with the ERA-GLONASS system was the Lada Vesta.

Commercial opportunities and system perspectives

The vehicle tracking system is a modern tool that allows you to optimize the work of any business that uses a fleet of vehicles in its work.

The GOLNASS / GPS monitoring system every year more and more firmly enters our lives. And this is due not only to the usability of the convenience of use (which, of course, is extremely important, it is enough to recall the navigator, which is now available in almost every first car), but also with the cost of such equipment, which is constantly reduced.

Today, transport control is carried out using global satellite systems and special equipment. A satellite monitoring system based on the operation of GLONASS and GPS is installed on the vehicle. The installation of a tracking system provides several advantages, in particular:

• movement control
• speed control
• control of work and rest
• fuel control
• driver and cargo safety
• communication with the driver

This is not a complete list of the possibilities provided by the satellite monitoring system of transport. Many managers note that they manage to reduce the cost of the fleet after installing such a system, since fuel is not drained, as well as using the car for personal purposes (deviation from the route).

How does the GLONASS / GPS system work?

To understand how effectively these systems work, you need to understand how they work.

Both GP and GLONASS are a global network whose work is organized using space and ground equipment. Initially, both systems were created for military purposes, but today it is widely used in the civilian sphere.

If you do not go into technical details, then the operation of the tracking system is the result of the interaction of artificial satellites, ground-based control systems and client devices (navigators, beacons, trackers, etc.).

Both the GLONASS system and the GPS system have 24 satellites in orbit, however, to determine the coordinates, it is enough for the client device to connect to 4 or more satellites, which gives an accurate definition of latitude, longitude, altitude and time. Due to different orbital planes, 4 or more satellites see a navigator / tracker from the Earth, located at any point.

The essence of the work of any navigation device is that it sends a message about the location of the satellite with an accurate indication of the time. The signal receiver compares the time of sending and receiving and determines its distance to the satellite. By comparing such data from all four or more satellites, the exact location of the object is determined.

However, in practice, everything is not so smooth. Everyone who has encountered the operation of the navigation system knows very well that its accuracy is far from ideal. The tracking system can make mistakes both at 10 and at 100 meters. And there are reasons for this.

Firstly, the geometry of the satellites is far from perfect. In this case, geometry is understood as the arrangement of satellites with respect to each other. Even if the receiving device "sees" all four necessary satellites, they can be located in one direction (for example, in the east), as a result, the error can be up to 150 meters due to the "uniformity" of the signal.

Secondly, in cloudy weather or in a city with high-rise buildings, the signal sent by the satellite may not come directly, but be reflected from a number of objects. In this case, the error in the data will directly depend on how much the GPS navigation system “sees” satellites with the correct data.

Thirdly, there is an artificial limitation of accuracy for security purposes, which has become a kind of payment for the fact that the military shared their technologies.

Fourth, the accuracy of the data also directly depends on the quality of the vehicle monitoring device.

The difference between the GLONASS system and the GPS system

GPS satellite system is a global positioning system implemented in the period from 1983 to 1993, which allows you to determine the coordinates of objects on the Earth's surface. The system is implemented using three components:

• Space satellite constellation;
• GPS ground stations
• User equipment for receiving signals (receivers, beacons, trackers, etc.).

main feature GPS systems tracking consists in the position of its satellite constellation: 24 devices are in 6 planes (4 in each) and rotate in circular orbits. The orbits of the satellites are arranged so that at every moment of time from every point on the surface of the Earth a signal from 6 to 12 satellites is received.

GLONASS is a domestic global navigation system that, unlike GPS, works at other frequencies, has better protection against crashes, and most importantly, it is more stable.

The fact is that 24 satellites, of which satellite system, are located in 3 geostationary orbits, which means that at every point on the earth at any given time, a certain number of satellites are always visible that transmit a signal stably.

Based on the comparison parameters, we can confirm the statement made earlier that gps systems are more accurate. How are things going with GLONASS reliability?

The fact is that the GLONASS system for transport control works on the frequency separation of signals, due to which, when a signal is lost, it can shift frequencies. As a result, drowning in a GLONASS receiver is more difficult with natural obstacles (clouds, tall buildings) or the tricks of negligent employees.

It should be noted that today the accuracy of GLONASS and GPS tracking systems are almost equal, and in the coming years the domestic system will become much more accurate than the American one. This, combined with stability and security, makes the GLONASS-based tracking system more attractive.

Despite the differences, GLONASS and GPS systems have much in common, therefore, modern vehicle tracking system  thanks usually has the ability to work with the signals of both systems. Such a solution improves the accuracy of determining the coordinates and the reliability of the system, so today it is widely used.