MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia’s Strela carrier rocket with a Kondor-E 2 Earth observation satellite is due to be launched from the Baikonur space in Kazakhstan on Thursday, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Monday.

“The launch is scheduled at 7:55 a.m. Moscow Time (0455 GMT),” the statement says.

Strela, based on an intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20, known as Satan, will blast off from a launch pad number 175.

Kondor is a series of small civilian radar Earth observation satellites developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for the Russian Defence Ministry and foreign customers.

The first Kondor satellite was launched into orbit in summer 2013.

Earlier on Monday, Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket with the Yamal-401 telecommunications satellite blasted off from the Baikonur.