Track the GLONASS navigation constellation

azmth currently tracks 29 GLONASS satellites in CelesTrak's active catalogue, as of 14 September 2026. Data from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

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GLONASS is Russia's global navigation satellite system, the counterpart to GPS, run under Roscosmos. Its satellites orbit in medium Earth orbit and are listed in tracking catalogues under Cosmos numbers with a GLONASS tag. azmth counts them live from CelesTrak data.

Also called ГЛОНАСС (GLONASS), Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система (Global'naya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema), Ураган (Uragan)

As of 13 September 2026, Russia's GLONASS navigation system had 22 satellites in use out of 27 in its official constellation, according to the GLONASS Information and Analysis Centre.

TL;DR· 7 min read

GLONASS is Russia's global satellite navigation system, run by Roscosmos, with satellites in medium Earth orbit about 19,100 km up in three orbital planes. The official status table for 13 September 2026 listed 27 satellites in the constellation: 22 in use, 2 withdrawn for maintenance, 2 under study by the chief designer and 1 in orbital reserve. The newest satellite CelesTrak tags as GLONASS, Cosmos 2619, launched on 24 August 2026 and was not yet on that list.

29
in CelesTrak's active catalogue now
as of 14 September 2026
22
satellites in use, per the GLONASS IAC
as of 13 September 2026 · source
27
satellites on the official constellation list
as of 13 September 2026 · source

What GLONASS is

GLONASS (ГЛОНАСС, Global Navigation Satellite System) is Russia's global satellite navigation system, providing positioning, navigation and timing signals from satellites in medium Earth orbit. Roscosmos runs the system, the Space Forces of Russia's Ministry of Defence launch its satellites from Plesetsk, and a Roscosmos centre, the Information and Analysis Centre for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (IAC), publishes the official status of every satellite in the constellation. The constellation is designed around 24 slots in three orbital planes about 19,100 km above the Earth.

Most of the constellation is still made up of Glonass-M satellites, the generation before the Glonass-K family that the newspaper Vedomosti calls the third generation. Of the 24 satellites in the nominal slots on 13 September 2026, 18 were Glonass-M, 5 were Glonass-K1 and 1 was a Glonass-K2, according to the IAC slot table matched against CelesTrak's type tags. The oldest satellites still in use, Cosmos 2434 and Cosmos 2436, launched on 25 December 2007. The earliest satellite CelesTrak tags as GLONASS, Cosmos 1413, launched on 12 October 1982.

Only two satellites of the newer Glonass-K2 type have launched. Cosmos 2569 launched on 7 August 2023 and is held in orbital reserve, and Cosmos 2584 launched on 2 March 2025 (3 March in Moscow) and was brought into use on 24 December 2025. Official plans have been larger. In April 2022 Ivan Revnivykh, head of the GLONASS utilisation division at Roscosmos, said at least 18 Glonass-K2 were expected in orbit by 2030, and in April 2025 the Russian outlet CNews reported a target of completing Glonass-K2 deployment by 2028 with more than ten launched. Both are announced targets. The two GLONASS launches after March 2025, on 13 September 2025 and 24 August 2026, carried satellites that CelesTrak tags as Glonass-K1.

CNews, citing RIA Novosti, also reported in April 2025 that work on an additional GLONASS segment would begin in 2030, with 240 satellites to be launched into low orbits of about 800 km. That is a stated plan. In December 2023 academician Nikolai Testoyedov said, as reported by Interfax, that modernised Glonass-K2 satellites were expected to launch from 2025 in an import-substituted version, built with domestic replacements for imported parts. Neither Roscosmos nor the IAC has confirmed whether Cosmos 2584, the Glonass-K2 launched in March 2025, is that version. The satellites are built by ISS Reshetnev, which has been on the European Union's sanctions list since 18 December 2023 and is also on the US OFAC sanctions list.

How to find them on the globe

In CelesTrak's satellite catalogue each GLONASS satellite carries its Cosmos number, assigned by Russia's Ministry of Defence, followed by a bracketed type tag, for example COSMOS 2564 [GLONASS-M], COSMOS 2501 [GLONASS-K], COSMOS 2596 [GLONASS-K1] or COSMOS 2584 [GLONASS-K2]. Russia's other military satellites also use Cosmos numbers, so the bracketed tag is what marks a satellite as part of GLONASS. CelesTrak's orbital element sets use a different form, the Cosmos number followed by the satellite's GLONASS system number, as in COSMOS 2584 (704K), and a newly launched satellite can appear there as a bare COSMOS 2619. The IAC's status table and notices use the system number (Glonass-K2 No. 704 is Cosmos 2584), while numbers such as No. 19L are factory serials.

Signals and accuracy

On 13 September 2026 the IAC listed 22 GLONASS satellites in use: 8 in orbital plane 1, 8 in plane 2 and 6 in plane 3. Two Glonass-M satellites in nominal slots were temporarily withdrawn for maintenance, Cosmos 2460 (No. 732, slot 23) from 1 September 2026 and Cosmos 2500 (No. 755, slot 21) from 9 September 2026. Cosmos 2433 and Cosmos 2457 were under study by the chief designer (the IAC's English table says under check by the satellite prime contractor) and were not in use, and Cosmos 2569 was in orbital reserve. On 2 September 2026 all work with Glonass-M No. 719 (Cosmos 2432) stopped and it was removed from the constellation, although it is still in orbit. Each satellite is also assigned a frequency letter, the radio channel it transmits on: when Cosmos 2584 entered service on 24 December 2025 it was given slot 6 and letter minus 4. An official accuracy figure published by the IAC dates from February 2021, when the then head of Roscosmos gave GLONASS accuracy as 2.6 m and said it would improve to 1.3 m with Glonass-K2.

What we know

Operator
Roscosmos, with status published by its Information and Analysis Centre for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (IAC) as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Launches
Space Forces of the Russian Ministry of Defence, from Plesetsk as of 24 August 2026 · ria.ru
In use
22 of the 27 on the official constellation list as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Not in use
Cosmos 2460 and Cosmos 2500 withdrawn for maintenance; Cosmos 2433 and Cosmos 2457 under study by the chief designer; Cosmos 2569 in orbital reserve as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Design
24 nominal slots in three orbital planes as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Orbit
Medium Earth orbit, about 19,100 km up, inclined 63.6 to 65.6 degrees as of 14 September 2026 · celestrak.org
Satellite types in the nominal slots
18 Glonass-M, 5 Glonass-K1, 1 Glonass-K2 as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Oldest in use
Cosmos 2434 and Cosmos 2436, launched 25 December 2007 as of 13 September 2026 · glonass-iac.ru
Glonass-K2 launched
Two: Cosmos 2569 (7 August 2023) and Cosmos 2584 (2 March 2025) as of 14 September 2026 · celestrak.org
Latest launch
24 August 2026, Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage from Plesetsk, catalogued as COSMOS 2619 [GLONASS-K1] (2026-194A, NORAD 100460) as of 14 September 2026 · celestrak.org
Official accuracy figure
2.6 m, stated in February 2021, with 1.3 m expected from Glonass-K2 as of 7 June 2021 · glonass-iac.ru
First launch
12 October 1982 (Cosmos 1413) as of 14 September 2026 · celestrak.org
Satellite maker
ISS Reshetnev, on the EU sanctions list since 18 December 2023 and on the US OFAC list as of 14 September 2026 · webgate.ec.europa.eu

Timeline

  1. 12 October 1982

    Cosmos 1413, the earliest satellite CelesTrak tags as GLONASS, is launched. celestrak.org

  2. 25 December 2007

    Cosmos 2434 and Cosmos 2436 launch. In September 2026 they are the oldest GLONASS satellites still in use. glonass-iac.ru

  3. February 2021

    The then head of Roscosmos gives GLONASS accuracy as 2.6 m and says Glonass-K2 will improve it to 1.3 m. glonass-iac.ru

  4. 5 April 2022

    Roscosmos official Ivan Revnivykh says at least 18 Glonass-K2 are expected in orbit by 2030 (announced target). ixbt.com

  5. 7 August 2023

    The first Glonass-K2, Cosmos 2569, launches. In September 2026 the IAC lists it as orbital reserve. glonass-iac.ru

  6. 2 March 2025

    The second Glonass-K2, Cosmos 2584, launches from Plesetsk (3 March, Moscow time). celestrak.org

  7. 22 April 2025

    CNews reports targets of completing Glonass-K2 deployment by 2028 and starting a low-orbit GLONASS segment of 240 satellites in 2030 (announced targets). cnews.ru

  8. 13 September 2025

    A Soyuz-2.1b from Plesetsk launches a Ministry of Defence satellite and the student satellite Mozhayets-6. The ministry assigns the numbers Kosmos-2595 and Kosmos-2596 without saying which is which. ria.ru

  9. 16 October 2025

    Glonass-K No. 708, listed by the IAC as Cosmos 2596, enters service in slot 20. glonass-iac.ru

  10. 24 December 2025

    Glonass-M No. 733 (Cosmos 2457) leaves slot 6 and goes under study by the chief designer. glonass-iac.ru

  11. 24 December 2025

    Glonass-K2 No. 704 (Cosmos 2584) is brought into use in slot 6. glonass-iac.ru

  12. 1 August 2026

    The IAC table lists 28 on the constellation list and 24 in use. glonass-iac.ru

  13. 24 August 2026

    A Soyuz-2.1b with a Fregat upper stage launches a Ministry of Defence satellite from Plesetsk, catalogued by CelesTrak as COSMOS 2619 [GLONASS-K1]. celestrak.org

  14. 1 September 2026

    Glonass-M No. 732 (Cosmos 2460) is withdrawn for maintenance. glonass-iac.ru

  15. 2 September 2026

    Glonass-M No. 719 (Cosmos 2432) is removed from the constellation. It remains in orbit. glonass-iac.ru

  16. 9 September 2026

    Glonass-M No. 755 (Cosmos 2500) is withdrawn for maintenance. glonass-iac.ru

  17. 13 September 2026

    The IAC table lists 27 on the constellation list, 22 of them in use. glonass-iac.ru

Commonly got wrong

  • (1) The Glonass-K1 launched on 13 September 2025 has two different Cosmos numbers, depending on the source. Russia's Ministry of Defence assigned Kosmos-2595 and Kosmos-2596 to that launch without saying which went to the navigation satellite and which to the student satellite Mozhayets-6 (RIA Novosti, 13 September 2025). The IAC table and CelesTrak call the navigation satellite Cosmos 2596, while Jonathan McDowell's GCAT catalogue and Gunter's Space Page call it Kosmos 2595. Its NORAD catalogue number, 65590, is the stable way to identify it.
  • (2) Some AI search answers and tracker pages give GLONASS as 24 satellites. That is the design: Vedomosti (2 May 2026) describes a system based on 24 satellites in three orbital planes, and the IAC table is built around 24 nominal slots. The IAC's own count on 13 September 2026 was 27 satellites on the constellation list, of which 22 were in use. The live figure on this page, 29, counts satellites with a GLONASS tag in CelesTrak's active catalogue. On 14 September 2026 those tagged satellites also included Cosmos 2432, removed from the constellation but still in orbit, and Cosmos 2619, not yet on the IAC list.
  • (3) CelesTrak's status codes lag behind the IAC. On 14 September 2026 CelesTrak still coded Cosmos 2584 as a spare, although the IAC says it has been in use since 24 December 2025, and gave Cosmos 2460 and Cosmos 2500 its '+' active code, although the IAC listed both as withdrawn for maintenance. To see which GLONASS satellites are working, use the IAC table, which is the official record.
  • (4) Glonass-K and Glonass-K1 name the same satellite type, and Glonass-K2 is a separate, heavier variant. The IAC calls every unit of the first type on its list Glonass-K, while CelesTrak tags Cosmos 2501, 2547, 2557 and 2559 as [GLONASS-K] and Cosmos 2596 and 2619 as [GLONASS-K1]. The type of the satellite launched on 24 August 2026 had not been officially stated by 14 September 2026: the Ministry of Defence called it a spacecraft for the ministry, CelesTrak tags it Glonass-K1, the launch-news site lookintothe.space calls it Glonass-K1 No. 19L, Gunter's Space Page lists it as GLONASS-K 19L with a question mark, and russianforces.org says it is believed to be a Glonass-K.

Sources

  1. GLONASS IAC: constellation status table (English)
  2. ИАЦ КВНО: Состав и состояние орбитальной группировки ГЛОНАСС (in Russian)
  3. ИАЦ КВНО: GLONASS slot table (XML export) (in Russian)
  4. ИАЦ КВНО: GLONASS constellation status notices (in Russian)
  5. ИАЦ КВНО: Glonass-M No. 719 removed from the constellation (2 September 2026) (in Russian)
  6. ИАЦ КВНО: Glonass-K2 No. 704 brought into use (24 December 2025) (in Russian)
  7. ИАЦ КВНО: GLONASS accuracy statement (7 June 2021) (in Russian)
  8. CelesTrak: GLONASS operational group (glo-ops) orbital elements
  9. CelesTrak SATCAT: records named GLONASS
  10. CelesTrak SATCAT: launch 2026-194 (COSMOS 2619)
  11. CelesTrak SATCAT: full catalogue
  12. Jonathan McDowell, GCAT satellite catalogue
  13. Gunter's Space Page: 2025 launch chronology
  14. Gunter's Space Page: 2026 launch chronology
  15. РИА Новости: Soyuz-2.1b launch from Plesetsk (24 August 2026) (in Russian)
  16. РИА Новости: Kosmos-2595 and Kosmos-2596 launch (13 September 2025) (in Russian)
  17. Ведомости: Russian state satellite systems (2 May 2026) (in Russian)
  18. CNews: Glonass-K2 and low-orbit segment plans (22 April 2025) (in Russian)
  19. iXBT: 18 Glonass-K2 by 2030 target (5 April 2022) (in Russian)
  20. Интерфакс: import-substituted Glonass-K2 plan (12 December 2023) (in Russian)
  21. Посмотрите в космос! (lookintothe.space): Glonass-K1 No. 19L launch (in Russian)
  22. Russian strategic nuclear forces blog: launch of a Glonass-K navigation satellite (24 August 2026)
  23. European Union consolidated financial sanctions list
  24. US Treasury OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list

Checked on 14 September 2026. Sources in Russian were read in their own language and translated for this page; where official statements and independent tracking disagree, both are given. The live count above comes from the catalogue, not from this research.

Frequently asked

How many GLONASS satellites are there?

It depends on what is counted. On 13 September 2026 the IAC listed 27 satellites on the GLONASS constellation list: 22 in use, 2 withdrawn for maintenance, 2 under study by the chief designer and 1 in orbital reserve. CelesTrak's active catalogue currently holds 29 satellites with a GLONASS tag, which can include satellites removed from the constellation but still in orbit and new satellites not yet listed. The design calls for 24 slots in three orbital planes.

Who runs GLONASS?

Roscosmos, Russia's state space corporation, runs GLONASS. Its Information and Analysis Centre for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (IAC) publishes the official status table and the notices of the GLONASS System Control Centre. The Space Forces of Russia's Ministry of Defence launch the satellites from Plesetsk, and ISS Reshetnev builds them.

How is GLONASS different from GPS?

Both are global satellite navigation systems in medium Earth orbit. GLONASS is Russian and GPS is American. Worked out from CelesTrak's orbital elements on 14 September 2026, GLONASS satellites orbit about 19,130 km up at inclinations of 63.6 to 65.6 degrees, while GPS satellites orbit about 20,180 km up at 53.2 to 57.1 degrees. GLONASS has the highest orbital inclination of the four global systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou) and uses three orbital planes.

When was the latest GLONASS launch?

The latest launch was on 24 August 2026, when a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage lifted off from Plesetsk. The Ministry of Defence did not name the payload. CelesTrak catalogues it as COSMOS 2619 [GLONASS-K1], and CelesTrak's orbital elements dated 3 September 2026 showed it still drifting towards its working slot. On 13 September 2026 it was not yet on the IAC's constellation list. The launch before that was on 13 September 2025.

Why are GLONASS satellites called Cosmos?

Russia's Ministry of Defence, which launches GLONASS satellites, gives its satellites sequential Kosmos (Cosmos) numbers, and CelesTrak lists GLONASS satellites under those numbers with a bracketed type tag such as [GLONASS-M]. The ministry does not always announce the number. Its statement on the 24 August 2026 launch gave neither a name nor a number, and Cosmos 2619 is the designation that appears in the catalogue.

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