A Proton M carrier rocket bearing three Glonass satellites will be launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on March 2, Russian space officials said on Monday.

The carrier rocket and the satellites are currently being tested at the Kazakh space center.

Glonass - the Global Navigation Satellite System - is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, and is designed for both military and civilian use.

Both systems allow users to determine their positions to within a few meters.

Russia currently has a total of 22 Glonass satellites in orbit, but only 16 of them are operational.

The system requires 18 operational satellites for continuous navigation services covering the entire territory of Russia and at least 24 satellites to provide navigation services worldwide.