Russian Space ForcesSoyuz 2.1b Fregat-M43/3 (43L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
Launched
~September 17, 2026 · 16:00 UTC
Image: Roscosmos
Summary
Russian Space Forces successfully placed a third-generation Glonass-K1 navigation satellite into orbit from Plesetsk, advancing GLONASS with improved accuracy and longer operational life.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M · Russian Space Forces
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Navigation · Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)for VKS
- Milestone
- 36th Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M flight · 2nd this yearRussian Space Forces's 158th launch6th this yearhumanity's 7,397th orbital launch attempt224th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
OBJECT A · NORAD 100744 · 2026-216A · Space-Track
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- COSMOS 2620 [GLONASS-K1]
- Object ID
- 2026-216A
- Epoch
- 2026-09-19 03:55:40 UTC
- Mean motion
- 2.12896137 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.00024861
- Inclination
- 64.7782°
- Ascending node
- 189.0897°
- Arg. of perigee
- 313.2665°
- Mean anomaly
- 35.3934°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 3
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: MEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
About this launch
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?) launched on a Russian Space Forces Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M from 43/3 (43L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation on September 17, 2026 at around 16:00 UTC. It was Russian Space Forces's 158th launch, 6th this year and humanity's 7,397th orbital launch attempt. It was the 36th Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M flight and the 2nd this year. The payload was bound for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). It reached a 19,148 × 19,160 km orbit inclined 64.8°.
Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Russian space-based navigation system comparable to the similar GPS and Galileo systems. This generation improves on accuracy, power consumption and design life. Each satellite is unpressurized and weighs 935 kg, and has an operational lifetime of 10 years.
Pad
43/3 (43L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
234th launch from 43/3 (43L), 3rd this year · 1,688th from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Local pad time at liftoff: around 7 pm
234 launches from this pad · 1,688 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
24 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationOpen in maps
Updates
Launch success.
Show 3 earlier updates
Updated entry for new launch per NOTAMs scheduled some time between 08:00-20:59 UTC daily, September 17-21; note launch vehicle and payload identities highly uncertain.
Cosmic_Penguin · 9/16/2026 · source
Removed from current schedule with cancellation of closure notices.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/28/2026 · source
Added launch per NOTAMs; Launch vehicle and payload identities uncertain; exact launch window TBD.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/10/2026 · source
Questions
When did Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?) launch?
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?) launched on September 17, 2026 at around 16:00 UTC. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)?
Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M, flown by Russian Space Forces. Soyuz 2.1b Fregat-M spec sheet
Where did Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?) launch from?
43/3 (43L), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation. Liftoff was around 7 pm local time at the pad.
What orbit did Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?) reach?
It reached a 19,148 × 19,160 km orbit inclined 64.8°.