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Russian Soyuz-ST missile with French satellite takes off Guiana Space Center

The satellite has a life span of 10 years
Kourou space center in French Guiana AP Photo/Henri Griffit, archive
Kourou space center in French Guiana
© AP Photo/Henri Griffit, archive

PARIS, December 29. /TASS/. The Russian Soyuz-ST missile with French CSO-2 reconnaissance satellite successfully took off the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The start was livestreamed at the website of Arianespace, space launch operator.

Shortly after the launch, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin congratulated the Russian state-run space corporation on a successful year without any accidents. 

"Our Soyuz-ST rocket with a French satellite, launched an hour ago from the Kourou space center, has just taken it to the designated orbit. Roscosmos has completed its launch campaign. Congratulations, my friends. This is our second consecutive successful and accident-free year," he wrote in a Twitter post.

Arianespce CEO Stephane Israel also congratulated the Russian partners.

"My congratulations to our Russian partners and the legendary Soyuz rocket," he said. "This is their third success in this month alone."

"This new successful launch confirms the Soyuz rocket’s high qualities," the company said in its press release. "The Russian carrier missile successfully brought the surveillance satellite, intended for the National Space Studies Center and Ministry of Defense, to the orbit.

This is the 25th Soyuz mission, launched from the Guiana Space Center since 2011.

The 3.5-tonne satellite, built by Airbus Defense and Space, will be deployed at the heliosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 480 km. The satellite is designed for a 10-year lifespan.

The satellite was commission by the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) and the Main weapon directorate of the French Ministry of Defense. The Airbus website disclosed that the satellite is intended for observation of Earth for security purposes.