Molnia-M carrier rocket to orbit military satellite

A Molnia-M booster rocket was launched from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia on Tuesday to orbit a Cosmos military satellite, a Space Forces spokesman said.

MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - A Molnia-M booster rocket was launched from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia on Tuesday to orbit a Cosmos military satellite, a Space Forces spokesman said.

The carrier rocket was launched at 8:39 a.m. Moscow time (4:39 a.m. GMT), and was scheduled to put the military satellite into orbit at 9:35 a.m. Moscow time (5:35 a.m. GMT).

The four-stage medium-range Molnia-M, which has a lift-off weight of 305 metric tons, is used for launching spacecraft of up to two metric tons into high-elliptical orbits.

Russia has launched over 220 Molnia-M carrier rockets from the Plesetsk space center since 1970.