Which organization developed the GLONASS system?

The GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) was developed by the Former USSR, now known as Russia. It is Russia's counterpart to the United States' GPS (Global Positioning System) and was initiated as a military project to ensure that the country had reliable access to positioning, navigation, and timing data. The system became operational in the early 1980s and has since evolved, with Russia continuing to maintain and upgrade GLONASS to provide global coverage.

This signifies the strategic importance of satellite navigation for national security and civil applications, paralleling developments in similar systems by other countries, including GPS by the United States and Galileo by the European Union, but GLONASS is specifically rooted in the technological advancements from the Soviet era and is a product of its space program and capabilities.