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Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with Glonass-M satellite launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome

All the prelaunch operations and the launch of the rocket carrier were carried out in a routine mode

© Sergei Medvedev/TASS

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket and the Glonass-M navigation satellite have been launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the Russian Defense Ministry told journalists on Saturday.

"On Saturday, November 3 at 23:17 Moscow time the operational crew of the Space Troops of the Aerospace Force successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b medium capacity carrier rocket with the Glonass-M navigation spacecraft from launching unit 4 at platform 43 of Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Arkhangelsk Region)," the ministry reported.

All the prelaunch operations and the launch of the rocket carrier were carried out in a routine mode. "The systems of the land automated complex for spacecraft operation of the Russian orbital group carried out control over the launch and flight of the carrier rocket," the Defense Ministry noted.

Commander of the Space Troops and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Force Colonel General Alexander Golovko, who arrived at the cosmodrome, carried out general command of the launch.

The Fregat upper stage with the Glonass-M satellite separated from the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket in a normal mode at 11:28 pm Moscow time on Saturday, an official with Russia’s Defense Ministry told reporters.

"At 11:28 om Moscow time, the head unit of the Soyuz-2.1b medium capacity carrier rocket as part of the Fregat upper stage and the Glonass-M spacecraft properly separated from the third stage of the carrier," the official said.

This is the fourth launch of a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 2018.

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