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Glonass-M satellite launched from Plesetsk reaches designated orbit

The missile’s launch and the satellite orbit insertion with the booster Fregat were normal

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. The booster Fregat of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle that blasted off from Plesetsk cosmodrome has successfully put a navigation satellite Glonass-M into the designated orbit, the Defense Ministry said.

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Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying Glonass-M satellite blasts off from Plesetsk cosmodrome

"The medium-class launch vehicle Soyuz-2.1b that was launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region at 11:54 Moscow time on Wednesday has put Russia’s navigation satellite Glonass-M into the designated orbit," the ministry’s statement runs.

The missile’s launch and the satellite orbit insertion with the booster Fregat were normal.

Russia’s Aerospace Force has taken control of the navigation satellite. "Russia’s navigation satellite Glonass-M, launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome earlier on Wednesday, was put into the designated orbit on time. The Titov Main Space Test Center of the Aerospace Force has taken control of the satellite," the Defense Ministry informed.

Telemetry contact with the satellite is stable and onboard systems function normally.

A Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle carrying the Glonass-M satellite blasted off from Plesetsk at 11:54 Moscow time. Ten minutes later the booster Fregat and the satellite attached to it separated from the third stage. Inserting the satellite into the designated orbit took several hours.

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