Posted: Sun, Aug 28, 2005, 8:50 PM ET (0050 GMT)
A Rockot launcher successfully placed a small remote sensing satellite into orbit late Friday. The Rockot lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 2:34 pm EDT (1834 GMT) Friday, carrying the Monitor-E satellite. The booster placed Monitor-E into a Sun-synchronous orbit 540 kilometers above the Earth 90 minutes after liftoff. After some initial communications problems, ground controllers established contact with the satellite. The 750-kilogram satellite is the first of a new generation of small Earth-observing satellites. Russian officials said Monitor-E will be used primarily for mapping and ecological studies during its five-year mission.

Related Links:

•  Itar-Tass article
•  SPACE.com article
•  AFP article
•  Xinhua article