Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor of the Higher School of Applied Physics and Space Technologies of SPbPU Sergey Makarov on Friday, April 22, told Izvestia about the likelihood of replacing GPS with subscriber equipment of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).
Earlier in the day, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin said that the state corporation intends to send technical proposals to the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency to replace the GPS satellite communication system with GLONASS.
Makarov expressed the opinion that it will not be possible to replace the equipment of Airbus and Boeing aircraft with GLONASS, because for this there must be permission from aircraft manufacturers and approval from the International Aviation Safety Agency. The difference in the systems at the same time, according to him, is "not fatal," however, to use GLONASS, the number of satellites should be increased.
"The reasons for disabling GPS may be different. Somewhere the system breaks down accidentally, and some coverage area may be disabled. But speaking strategically, our GLONASS system may well replace the GPS system," Makarov stressed.
Natalia Zavyalova, head of the Laboratory for Modeling Mechanical Systems and Processes at MIPT, in turn, noted that GLONASS, unlike GPS, is in stable ballistic orbits: about 50 maneuvers of maintaining the GPS orbit require one GLONASS maneuver.
"The accuracy of the system on the Earth's surface is slightly worse — the error can reach 6 m. However, for our household use — a navigator, search for optimal routes, etc. — this is quite acceptable," she explained.
Earlier on Friday, the leadership of the Russian aviation industry asked carriers to prepare for flights without GPS. Crews at the flight planning stage should be ready to perform standard take-off and approach procedures that are not related to the use of a satellite signal, pilots are recommended to monitor the position of aircraft using traditional navigation aids.
The recommendations are related to the information of the European aviation regulator dated March 17. According to the report, after February 24, cases of "jamming" and possible substitution of GPS signals (spoofing) became more frequent.
On March 19, Rogozin said that the issue of disconnecting Russia from GPS is being considered as part of US sanctions. He urged Russians not to worry about this, since every smartphone is connected to GLONASS, which in this case will continue to work.
Rogozin also noted that it is technically difficult to disconnect Russia from the GPS satellite communication system, because the GPS orbital grouping cannot selectively disconnect in the direction of Russia and not disconnect in the direction of other continents and countries.
The GLONASS system is based on 24 satellites moving above the Earth's surface. The main difference from GPS is that GLONASS satellites in orbital motion do not have synchronicity with the rotation of the Earth, which provides them with greater stability.
