Moscow, October 29 (RHC) –- The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, has ratified an intergovernmental agreement with Cuba on the exploration and peaceful use of outer space.
The agreement regulates bilateral cooperation in the spheres of space geodesy and meteorology, Earth remote sensing, satellite communications and navigation, as well as development of new space technologies.
The deal was signed on February 21, 2013 in Havana, Cuba's capital.
It includes the installation of Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) on the territory of the Republic of Cuba.
The Global Navigation Satellite System, which began operation in 1993, is a Russian equivalent of the US Global Positioning System (GPS). The GLONASS network provides real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects. Its accuracy is expected to be boosted to one meter (three feet) when used within Russia by the end of the year.
The first overseas GLONASS ground station for differential correction and monitoring was launched in Brazil in February 2013. Russia plans to build 50 GLONASS stations in several dozen countries across the world.
