"A Cosmos 3M carrier rocket launched from the Plesetsk space center [in north Russia] at 3:51 a.m. Moscow time (00:51 a.m. GMT) successfully took a German SAR-Lupe satellite into the target orbit. Control over the satellite has been passed onto the customer," Alexei Zolotukhin said.
The German satellite is designed to provide high-resolution radar images to NATO military commanders in Europe. It offers spatial resolution of less than 1 meter, and allows imaging at night and through clouds.
The satellite was orbited at 4:20 a.m. Moscow (1:20 a.m. GMT), but confirmation came later as the satellite was outside radio coverage zone at the time
It is the third time Russia has launched a German military spacecraft from Plesetsk.
Russia's Space Forces conducted SAR-Lupe launches in December 2006 and July 2007, under a 2003 contract between Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and German Cosmos International Satellitenstart Gmbh (a subsidiary of OHB Systems AG), which stipulates five SAR-Lupe launches until 2009.
The Cosmos 3M is a liquid-fueled two-stage rocket, first launched in 1967, with over 410 successful launches to date. The booster has been designed to lift a payload of up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) into low, medium, and high orbits.
