MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Ground facilities of Russia’s Aerospace Force have assumed control of the Meridian-M satellite, orbited by a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on Tuesday.

"The space apparatus Meridian-M was timely inserted into the designated orbit. Ground facilities of the Aerospace Force assumed control of the satellite to run it during the orbital flight," the Defense Ministry said.

Communication with the satellite is stable and all of the satellite’s system operate normally.

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket blasted off from Plesetsk at 15:48 Moscow time. The payload - the Frigat booster and Meridian-M satellite - separated from the launch vehicle at 15:57. The booster continued to propel satellite into the designated orbit.

The satellites of the Meridian family are responsible for communication between ships and ice reconnaissance planes along the Northern Sea Route coastal and ground stations.