Russia launches military satellites: Defense Ministry

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that an Angara-1.2 carrier rocket successfully deployed military satellites into target orbits.

"On Tuesday at 16:42 Moscow time, a combat crew of the Aerospace Force's Space Forces successfully launched the lightweight-class Angara-1.2 carrier rocket carrying satellites intended for the Russian Ministry of Defense from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region," the ministry said in a statement.

The launch of the carrier rocket and deployment of the satellites into calculated orbit proceeded normally, it said.

"After liftoff, the lightweight class Angara-1.2 carrier rocket was taken under surveillance by ground-based automated control systems. At the predetermined time, the spacecraft were deployed onto target orbits and taken under control by ground-based systems of the Aerospace Force's Space Troops," it noted.

Stable telemetry connections have been established and maintained with the spacecraft, whose onboard systems are operating normally, it said.