Navigation

COSMOS 2527 (756)

Russian Navigation Satellite (GLONASS-M) · Russian Aerospace Forces

Cosmos 2527, launched in 2018, continues GLONASS-M's steady constellation maintenance role. As Russia gradually transitions toward the next-generation GLONASS-K satellites, GLONASS-M spacecraft like this one remain the backbone of the operational constellation, a design now approaching two decades of continuous service since it first restored GLONASS to full strength in the 2000s. GLONASS-M's roughly two-decade production run makes it one of the longest-serving single satellite designs in any navigation constellation, a testament to how thoroughly Russia rebuilt and stabilized the program after its near-total 1990s collapse.