Posted: Thu, Jun 5, 2003, 11:11 AM ET (1511 GMT)
A Kosmos booster launched a Russian military satellite late Wednesday, Russian media reported. The Kosmos-3M booster lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 3:23 pm EDT (1923 GMT, 11:23 pm Moscow time). Its payload, designated Kosmos 2398, separated from the booster 64 minutes later. Russian reports offered no information about the satellite other than it belonged to the Russian military. Western analysts believe it is likely a Parus-class navigation satellite, placed into a highly-inclined orbit with an altitude of about 1000 kilometers. The launch is the second of four planned by Russia within one week: in addition to Monday's launch of Mars Express and Beagle 2 on a Soyuz, a Proton is scheduled to launch an American communications satellite early Saturday, followed Sunday by the Soyuz launch of a Progress cargo supply craft to the ISS. Prior to this week Russia had conducted only four launches for the year to date.

Related Links:

•  Interfax article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  AFP article