The launch of the first next-generation GLONASS K2 satellite is set for late 2021, according to a statement by Nikolai Testoyedov, CEO of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company, the satellites’ producer. The satellite will begin the next modernization phase of Russia’s GNSS. “We are launching our first GLONASS-K2 satellite this year,” Testoyedov stated to the Russian TASS news agency. “This launch is planned for the fourth quarter of the year.” According to Testoyedov, deliveries of all on-board equipment have been completed in full. The satellite has been assembled is now undergoing a series of mechanical, thermal vacuum, and other tests. “They [tests] usually take several months,” he added.