A Kosmos 3M rocket boosted
a secret Russian military satellite and a civilian search and rescue spacecraft
into orbit early Tuesday.
The 106-foot-tall launcher lifted off at
0357 GMT (11:57 p.m. EDT Monday) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern
Russia, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
The two-stage rocket
delivered the payloads to orbit about an hour later, the Novosti news agency
reported.
The Kosmos 3M booster,
making its first flight of the year, was believed to be carrying a Parus
navigation satellite for the Russian Defense Ministry. Parus satellites circle
Earth in 620-mile-high orbits over the poles.
The new Parus spacecraft
will likely be renamed Kosmos 2454 when it joins Russia's military satellite
fleet.
A next-generation search
and rescue satellite was also launched Tuesday.
The Sterkh 1 craft is part
of Russia's contribution to the COSPAS-SARSAT international satellite system
for search and rescue. The 353-pound spacecraft will detect distress beacon signals
from land, sea and air, determine their location, and relay the information to
emergency officials.
Tuesday's mission was the
39th space launch to reach orbit this year, and the 17th orbital flight
from Russia.
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