Russia's satellite navigation system isn't fully operational yet, but it seems to work on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's dog.

Putin listened Friday as his deputy, Sergei Ivanov, briefed him on the progress of the Global Navigation Satellite System. Then footage broadcast on Russian TV showed them try a collar containing satellite-guided positioning equipment on the prime minister's black Labrador Koni.

Ivanov said that the equipment goes on a standby mode when "the dog doesn't move, if it, say, lies down in a puddle."

Putin interrupted him jokingly: "My dog isn't a piglet, it doesn't lie in puddles."

"She looks sad," Ivanov said. "Her free life is over."

"She wags her tail, she likes it," Putin said after watching Koni outside his colonnaded residence on Moscow's western outskirts.

The navigation system, which goes by acronym GLONASS, was developed during the Soviet era.

The government had promised to make the system fully operational by the beginning of this year, but it was delayed by equipment flaws and other technical problems.

Ivanov told Putin that the system would have 21 satellites by the year's end — enough to provide navigation services over the entire Russian territory.

Ivanov said it would be available worldwide by the end of 2009, for which it would need to have 24 satellites.
俄羅斯的衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)還未全面投入使用，不過經(jīng)過普京總理愛犬的檢驗證明，它的性能還不錯。

普京總理于上周五聽取了副總理伊萬諾夫關(guān)于“全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)”建設(shè)的進展匯報。據(jù)俄羅斯電視臺播放的畫面顯示，（技術(shù)人員）給普京總理的黑色拉布拉多獵犬“科尼”戴上了一個內(nèi)置衛(wèi)星定位裝置的項圈。

伊萬諾夫說，當(dāng)科尼不動時，比如趴在坑里時，定位項圈就會進入待機模式。

普京打斷他，開玩笑說：“科尼又不是小豬，不會趴在坑里。”

伊萬諾夫說：“她看起來很難過，從此要失去自由了。”

看見戴上項圈的科尼在其位于莫斯科西郊的住所外（搖起了尾巴），普京說：“她在搖尾巴，看來她喜歡這個項圈。”

俄羅斯的這一“全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)”（英文縮寫“GLONASS”）早在蘇聯(lián)時期就開始開發(fā)了。

俄羅斯政府原計劃在今年年初將該系統(tǒng)全面投入使用，但因設(shè)備故障和其他技術(shù)原因而推遲。

伊萬諾夫?qū)ζ站┱f，到今年年底，全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)將擁有21顆衛(wèi)星，足以覆蓋俄羅斯全境。

他說，到2009年底，該系統(tǒng)的衛(wèi)星數(shù)量有望達到24顆，從而實現(xiàn)全球定位導(dǎo)航。