Posted: Wed, Feb 18, 2004, 11:23 AM ET (1623 GMT)
A Molniya rocket launched a communications satellite for the Russian military early Wednesday. The Molniya-M lifted off at 2:03 am EST (0703 GMT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and placed the Kosmos 2405 communications satellite into an elliptical orbit. The satellite is a Molniya-class communications satellite that operates in an inclined, highly elliptical orbit to serve high-latitude locations. The launch is the first this year by Russia. It took place during a large-scale military exercise that also saw the launch of an RS-12M Topol ICBM from Plesetsk the same day.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article
•  AFP article