On Saturday night, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying a military spacecraft launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, according to the country’s Defence Ministry.
The launch of the carrier rocket went off as anticipated, according to the statement. The military spacecraft was successfully deployed in its designated orbit and handed over to the control of the Aerospace Forces’ Space Troops’ base facilities at the expected time.
“A stable telemetry link has been established and maintained with the spacecraft,” the ministry stated, adding that the spacecraft’s onboard systems were operational.
Once the spacecraft was in orbit, Military Space Force (MSPF) intelligence officers began analyzing and processing information about the new space object, the statement says. The video of the rocket takeoff was released by the ministry.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket was watched by 45 female students from the Moscow and St. Petersburg boarding schools of the Defense Ministry and the Kyzyl Presidential Cadet School, who were invited to the cosmodrome for a tour, TASS reported citing the military department. The day before, the cosmodrome personnel reportedly showed the students the rocket launch pad, the assembly and testing building, and the facilities for the Angara carrier rocket.
The earlier launch of Soyuz-2.1b from the same Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region was reported on October 27. The rocket carried numerous Russian Defence Ministry spacecraft. The precise purpose, number, and capabilities of the devices have not been revealed.
According to the Russian space agency Roscosmos, 67 Soyuz-2.1b rocket launches occurred between December 27, 2006 and November 25, 2023, carrying 577 spacecraft into orbit.
