VOSTOCHNY SPACEPORT, December 27. /TASS/. The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with two Kanopus-V remote sensing satellites and 26 small foreign spacecraft has been launched from the Vostochny spaceport on Thursday, a TASS correspondent reported.

"The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket was launched at a scheduled time," Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

Nine minutes after the launch, the Fregat upper stage with all spacecraft will separate from the third stage of the rocket carrier. In about an hour after that, the Fregat will deliver Kanopus-V satellites and 26 foreign spaceraft to the orbit.

Kanopus-V satellites will monitor technogenic and natural disasters and emergencies.

Among foreign spacecraft that will be delivered to the orbit are Japan's GRUS spacecraft, 12 US Dove satellites, South Africa's ZACube-2 spacecraft, Spain's KA Lume-1, Germany's satellites D-Star ONE (iSat), D-Star ONE (Sparrow) and UWE-4, as well as 8 US Lemur spacecraft.

This was the fourth launch from the Vostochny spaceport in Russia's Far East.