Russian military puts spacecraft into orbit (VIDEO)

A Russian military satellite has entered orbit after being launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the Defense Ministry has said

Russia’s Aerospace Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket on Wednesday, delivering a satellite into orbit. The carrier blasted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Region.

A video of the take-off has been shared by Russia’s Defense Ministry. In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the MOD said the launch of the rocket and onboard spacecraft, which will “serve the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” went smoothly.

After being sent into space, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket – which is a disposable three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle – was tracked by the ground-based automated control complex of the German Titov Main Test Space Center.

The onboard satellite successfully entered its target orbit and is now under the control of Russia’s Aerospace Forces, the ministry said.

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“Stable telemetry communication was established and maintained with the spacecraft, its onboard systems are functioning normally,” the report read.

The ministry did not specify the type of craft carried into orbit. The Soyuz-2.1b has frequently been used to launch both military and civilian devices, including commercial satellites.

The last launch of the Soyuz-2.1b was conducted last month from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome. The rocket delivered two Ionosfera-M heliogeophysical satellites into near-Earth orbit along with 53 small spacecraft, including 49 Russian, two Iranian, one Russian-Chinese and one Russian-Zimbabwean devices.