MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. The spacehead of Soyuz-2.1b rocket vehicle comprising the Frigate upper stage and the Glonass-M satellite separated from the third stage of the space vehicle in due time [03.31 am], Russian Defense Ministry told TASS on Sunday.

"It will take several hours for the Frigate upper stage to bring the Glonass-M spacecraft to the intended orbit," the Defense Ministry added.

The Soyuz-2.1b rocket vehicle was launched from Plesetsk space port in the Archangelsk Region at 03.21 Moscow time.

All the pre-launch operations and the rocket launch were normal. Ground-based automatic control aids monitored the space vehicle launch and flight," the Defense Ministry said.

This is the first Soyuz-2 medium class rocket vehicle launch at Plesetsk space port this year.