Russia successfully launches military communication satellite

May 4

The Russian Space Forces on Wednesday successfully launched a military communication satellite, according to local media.

Citing Lt. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for the Forces, Itar-Tass news agency said a Meridian satellite, the 4th in the series, atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk launching site in northern Russia at 21:41 Moscow time (1741 GMT).

The Meridian is due to be detached from the rocket at 23:59 Moscow time (1959 GMT) on Wednesday, Zolotukhin was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Apart from military uses, the Meridian-series satellites will also provide communications, navigation and surveillance services for civilian customers.