The latest, most state-of-the-art radio satellite navigation system developed by Russia.

GLONASS-K marks the third generation of GLONASS navigation satellites and represents a substantial improvement over the previous GLONASS-M series, including longer life and better accuracy.

The upgraded series of satellites was to replace the GLONASS-M series in 2015; however, geopolitical sanctions stemming from Russia's invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 resulted in Russia being unable to obtain the radiation-resistant electronics needed for the satellites from western-nation suppliers.

This forced Russia to revise its plans and split the GLONASS-K program in two in 2015. The K1 satellites have launched twice and 13 have been built; the K2 series has yet to launch.

Under this revised plan in 2015, the GLONASS-K2 satellites were expected to begin flying in 2018. Currently, the first GLONASS-K2 launch is slated to occur no earlier than 2021.

The GLONASS-V series of satellites will be a modified version of the-K series.

Meet part of Roscosmos’s 21st century version of the Soyuz rocket. 

One of the main upgrades included in the Soyuz 2.1b is a completely digital flight control system -- not a small task when the Soyuz rocket was first designed in the 1960s.

Stats

Height: 46.3 m (152 ft)

Diameter: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Mass: 312,000 kg (688,000 lb)

Stages: 2 or 3

This digital Flight Control System allows for greater precision and launch target accuracy.

The Soyuz 2.1b also sports an uprated Blok-I second stage engine, the RD-0124, which provides increased performance.

It was the second of three Soyuz 2 variants to fly, taking its first launch on December 27th, 2006.

The Soyuz 2.1b variant flies under two different national flags and has two different names for the same configuration.

When launching from Baikonur or Plesetsk, the rocket flies as part of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos. For these missions, it is known as the Soyuz 2.1b.

When sold to Arianespace, the European Space Agency's launch management company, the rocket sports a few European modifications, like a European payload adapter and a European flight termination system.

When it flies for Europe, the rocket is known as the Soyuz ST-B.

Image: ESA

The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is located 800 km north of Moscow, Russian Federation.

The site was founded in 1957 to support Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ICBM launches of the R7 missile - from which the Soyuz rockets today are derived.

Plesetsk was not as busy as Baikonur in terms of satellite launches from its founding in 1957 to 2000 due to its location and ability to only launch crafts to Molniya and polar orbits.

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the Baikonur Cosmodrome becoming foreign territory for Russia, Plesetsk has been far more active since the 2000s.

It is primarily used for military and commercial launches to high inclination and polar orbits.

It has been the site of three fatal ground accidents that have killed 58 people.

In 1973, a Cosmos-3M rocket exploded on the launch pad killing 9; in 1980, a Vostok-2M rocket exploded during fueling, killing 48; in 2002, a Soyuz-U rocket exploded killing 1 person.