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Russia takes Kondor-FKA No. 1 civilian radar observation satellite to orbit

The separation of the spacecraft from its booster was successful

© Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

VOSTOCHNY SPACEPORT, May 27. /TASS/.The Kondor-FKA No. 1 civilian radar observation satellite designed to provide for the round-the-clock all-weather monitoring of the Earth’s continental areas and the World Ocean has reached its designated orbit, Roscosmos said on Saturday.

A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the satellite was launched at 12:14 a.m. Moscow time from the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Far East on Saturday.

"The separation of the spacecraft from its booster was successful. The first radar observation satellite has reached its intended orbit," the state corporation said.

This is the eighth launch of a Russian carrier rocket this year and the first one from the Vostochny spaceport.

The Kondor is a series of small Earth’s remote sensing satellites developed by the Research and Production Association of Machine-Building for the Aerospace Defense Forces and foreign customers. Russian satellites are designated as Kondor and their export versions as Kondor-E. The satellites are designed to carry out the Earth’s mapping, environmental monitoring and the prospecting of natural resources.

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