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Russian military satellite separates from carrier rocket launched from Plesetsk

It is this year’s first space rocket launch from Plesetsk

© ITAR-TASS/Andrei Morgunov

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MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. The military satellite has separated from the third stage of the space rocket Soyuz-2.1a, launched from the Plesetsk space site earlier today, said the Defense Ministry’s spokesman for Aerospace Defense Forces, Colonel Alexey Zolotukhin.

"Soyuz-2.1a blasted off at 14:01 Moscow time, and at 14:03 the rocket began to be tracked by the ground-based automated control centre of the air and space defence forces. The launch proceeded as expected under the command of air and space defence force chief, Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Golovko.

It is this year’s first space rocket launch from Plesetsk. The previous one was on December 25, 2014.

The first Soyuz-2 rocket was launched from Plesetsk in November 2004. Over a period of ten years twenty rockets of this family left this space port. Soyuz-2 and its alterations replaced the Soyuz-U rockets, which were in use in 1973 through 2012. A total of 434 rockets were launched during that period.

Last year Plesetsk launched ten space vehicles - six Soyuz-2 and two Rokot rockets, as well as the light and heavy versions of the new Russian space rocket Angara.

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