Russia launches military satellite

Russia’s Aerospace Forces successfully launched a military satellite into orbit on Thursday morning, the country’s Defense Ministry has announced.

According to a statement, a Soyuz-2.1a carrier blasted off at 9:40am local time (06:40 GMT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northern Arkhangelsk Region, which partially lies beyond the Arctic Circle.

The rocket had “a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense” aboard, the statement read. No further details were provided about the launch or the satellite itself.

It is the first launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome this year. In 2022, the base was the venue for 13 of 22 space launches conducted by Russia.

So far this year, Russia has already sent five missions into space, with three involving Soyuz rockets.