A Soyuz rocket launched a new navigation satellite into orbit for Russia's military forces on Monday (March 16) in a dazzling nighttime liftoff from a snowy launchpad.
The Soyuz 2.1b rocket launched the Glonass-M navigation satellite (opens in new tab) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 9:28 p.m. Moscow time (2:28 p.m. EDT/1828 GMT). The Soyuz's Fregat upper stage then delivered the satellite to its final orbit.
"On March 16, 2020, at 18:28 UTC a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat booster manufactured by NPO Lavochkin (part of Roscosmos (opens in new tab)) launched successfully from Plesetsk cosmodrome carrying a Glonass-M navigational satellite manufactured by ISS Reshetnev company," Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced in a statement (opens in new tab). "The satellite separated routinely from the booster after three Fregat booster service propulsion unit burns."
Related: The world's tallest rockets: How they stack up (opens in new tab)
Russia's Glonass-M satellites make up a constellation of space-based navigation craft for the country's Glonass system orbital group.
"They transmit navigational information and time data to the ground, maritime, air and space customers," Roscosmos officials said in a statement.
- Rocket Launches: The Latest Videos, Photos and Missions
- Russia's Space Centers and Launch Sites in Pictures
- The Top 10 Russian and Soviet Space Missions
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.