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Rokot space rocket with military-purpose satellites to be launched from Plesetsk

MOSCOW, December 25, /ITAR-TASS/. A light-class conversion carrier rocket Rokot with an acceleration unit Birz-KM and military-purpose satellites is to be launched from Plesetsk northern cosmodrome on Wednesday, Colonel Dmitry Zenin, an official of the RF Defence Ministry's press service fo the Air-and-Space Defence Forces (VKO), told Itar-Tass.

"The launch is to be carried out by VKO teams from Launcher 3 at Launch Pad 133 of the State testing cosmodrome Plesetsk," he specified. The liftoff is to be effected under the direction of Major-General Alexander Golovko, VKO Commander.

"The tracking of the carrier rocket Rokot will be picked up three minutes after liftoff by the ground facilities of the Main test space center named after Gherman Titov. The estimated time of deployment of the spacecraft into a designated orbit is 06:16, Moscow time," Zenin said.

The light-class carrier rocket Rokot has been developed undrr a conversion programme on the basis of RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile which is being phased out. Rockets of this type are made by the Khrunichev State space research and production center.

Rokot was first launched from Plesetsk on May 16, 2000. In all, 17 launchings of this carrier rocket have been carried out from Plesetsk by now.

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