Russia launches military satellite into orbit
12:02, 22 May 2009
MOSCOW. May 22. KAZINFORM A Soyuz-2 carrier rocket, which was launched early Friday from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia, has put an advanced Meridian 2 military satellite into orbit, an aide to the Russian Space Forces commander said, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
The Meridian-series communication satellites are designed to replace the older Molniya-series spacecraft and in addition to their military uses provide communication, navigation and surveillance services for civilian customers.
The Soyuz-2 is an upgraded version of the Soyuz rocket, which has been a workhorse of Russia's manned and unmanned space programs since the 1960s.
It features upgraded digital flight control and telemetry systems, as well as a higher performance rating, and higher payload capacity than previous versions of the Soyuz rocket.
The Soyuz-2 is expected to replace the Molniya-M, Soyuz-U and Soyuz-FG rockets in the future, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.