On December 11, 2019 at 08:54 UTC the “Soyuz-2.1b” rocket-carrier was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk region, North Russia. The launch was performed by Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The rocket equipped with the “Fregat” booster (upper stage) orbited the “Glonass-M” navigation satellite. The Russian GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System – operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces – is currently the only global alternative to the American GPS fleet in operation that has global coverage of comparable precision.