Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat | Glonass-K1 No. 18 (Kosmos 2595) & Kosmos 2596
Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat • Soyuz
📝 Mission Description
This Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat launch carries the Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat | Glonass-K1 No. 18 (Kosmos 2595) & Kosmos 2596 mission, scheduled for September 13, 2025. The mission aims to deliver important payloads to orbit, contributing to our understanding of space and advancing technological capabilities.
ℹ️ Official Details
Glonass-K1 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.
This launch also carries Mozhayets-6 (Kosmos 2596), a small experimental satellite built by the Mozhaiskiy Military Space Academy of St. Petersburg.
🎯 Post-Launch Analysis
Post-Launch Analysis: Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat | Glonass-K1 No. 18 (Kosmos 2595) & Kosmos 2596
The September 13, 2025, launch of the Soyuz 2.1b with a Fregat upper stage achieved a flawless mission profile, successfully deploying Glonass-K1 No. 18 (Kosmos 2595) and Mozhayets-6 (Kosmos 2596) into their designated medium Earth orbits. The Soyuz 2.1b rocket demonstrated robust performance, with precise ascent trajectory and stage separation, while the Fregat upper stage executed accurate orbital insertion, validating its reliability for multi-payload missions. The Glonass-K1 satellite, a third-generation design for Russia’s GLONASS navigation system, enhances positional accuracy and energy efficiency, with a 935 kg unpressurized structure and a 10-year design life. This deployment strengthens GLONASS constellation resilience, rivaling GPS and Galileo. Mozhayets-6, an experimental payload, underscores Russia’s commitment to academic space innovation. This mission reaffirms Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat as a dependable workhorse, offering critical engineering data for future navigation and smallsat missions while reinforcing Russia’s strategic space navigation capabilities.