MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The Strela carrier rocket with a Kondor satellite has been launched from Baikonur, a Roscosmos source told TASS.

The launch initially was to take place on December 18, but was postponed for technical reasons.

The Strela launch vehicle is a Russian orbital launch system capable of lifting light and medium payloads to low Earth orbits.

It is based on the UR-100N (RS-18) Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, also known as SS-19 Stiletto. Strela is a two-stage liquid-fuelled launch vehicle that uses the SS-19 MIRV-bus to act as third stage (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle) to inject its payloads into the desired orbits. The Streal rocket was to be launched in the interests of a foreign customer from site No 175. Strela stands 29.2 meters tall (with its long payload fairing) and has a main diameter of 2.5 metres. The vehicle has a launch mass of 105,000 kg. Strela can deliver payloads of up to 1,700 kg into low Earth orbit and 1,100 kg into Sun synchronous orbit.

Kondor is a series of small civilian radar Earth observation satellites developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau for the Russian Defense Ministry and foreign customers. The first Kondor satellite was launched into orbit in summer 2013.