MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Space Forces will launch a new relay satellite in 2009, the forces' commander said Friday.

"Next year, we plan to orbit a new military relay satellite that will have twice as many transponders compared with available satellites. The satellite will be in service for 12 years unlike current satellites in use, which have a service life of three years but operate for five years," Colonel General Vladimir Popovkin told journalists.

Popovkin said the satellite, worth about 1 billon rubles (over $40 million), will be put into geostationary orbit over Russia to relay data obtained from Russian reconnaissance satellites positioned in different orbits.