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Soyuz-2.1b rocket with Glonass satellite blasts off from Plesetsk

The pre-launch procedures and the launch itself went as planned

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. A Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Glonass-M navigational satellite was launched on Sunday from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said.

"At 00:46 Moscow time on Sunday, June 14, a unit of the Space Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces has conducted a successful launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the Glonass-M satellite from Lanch Pad 4 of the Plesetsk space center," the press service said in a statement.

The pre-launch procedures and the launch itself went as planned.

Ten minutes after the blastoff, the Glonass-M satellite and the Fregat booster separated from the rocket in normal regime.

The booster is to put the satellite into its designated orbit several hours later.

Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin oversaw the launch.

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