Russia launches rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying spacecraft for defense

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the Aerospace Forces launched the Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region.

"On May 23rd, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Oblast, a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket manufactured by Samara-based Progress Rocket Space Centre (a subsidiary of Roscosmos) was successfully launched, carrying a spacecraft aboard, in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry," the statement said.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in the Arkhangelsk region, about 800 kilometres (597 miles) north of Moscow. Originally established in 1957 as a missile base, it later became a key launch site for military and civilian satellites.