MOSCOW -- A Russian Start 1 rocket successfully launcheded the Swedish Odin satellite into orbit this morning from the Svobodny Cosmodrome located in Russia's Far East.

Launch was right on time at 3:48 a.m. EST (08:48 GMT).

The four-stage rocket was launched from a modernized mobile launch platform originally developed for operation of Topol-type missiles.

Odin was put into a solar synchronous orbit at 389 miles (625.7 kilometers) altitude. Its orbital inclination is 97.83 degrees and its orbital period is 97.61 minutes.

Overall weight of Odin is 531 pounds (241 kilograms). The satellite was developed for meteorological and atmospheric studies, particularly for the research of so-called "ozone holes."

The Start 1 launch vehicle that Odin flew on was originally developed by a division of the Moscow Institute for Thermotechnology (Komplex-MIT) from the Topol (SS-25) missile.

Start 1 boosters can deliver up to 881 pounds (400 kilograms) of payload to orbits located between 250 and 500 miles (400 and 800 kilometers) altitude. Its lift off mass is about 55 tons (50 metric tons) and the lift off thrust is about 220,406 pounds (100,000 kilograms).