MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The Fregat booster has successfully put in orbit the Russian Meridian-M communications satellite, the Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Fregat booster successfully put in orbit the Meridian-M spacecraft," it said.

The satellite was launched at 15:48 Moscow time by a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket from the Plesetsk spaceport. Nine minutes after the launch, the Fregat booster with the Meridian-M satellite separated from the carrier rocket.

Meridian satellites provide communication for seagoing vessels and ice patrol planes along the Northern Sea Route with coastal and ground-based stations. These spacecraft are also used to expand satellite communication stations’ capacity in northern parts of Siberia and the Far East.