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Russia’s Glonass-M satellite put into designated orbit — defense ministry

Russian space troops have already assumed control of the spacecraft

MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Fregat booster has put the Glonass-M satellite into the designated orbit following Monday’s launch, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry’s department of information and mass communications told journalists on Tuesday.

"The Soyuz-2.1b medium-lift launch vehicle successfully put the Glonass-M spacecraft into the designated orbit as scheduled," the source said.

Russian space troops have already assumed control of the spacecraft. Stable telemetry communication has been established with the satellite, and its systems are operating normally.

The launch took place at 21:28 Moscow time on Monday, from the Plesetsk space center in northwestern Russia. The booster and the satellite separated from the carrier rocket ten minutes later.

It was the second Soyuz-2 launch from Plesetsk in 2020. Soyuz-2 rockets replaced Soyuz-U rockets, which were in operation from 1973 to 2012. As many as 435 Soyuz-U rockets and 44 Soyuz-2 rockets have blasted off from Plesetsk.

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