Soyuz launches Russian military satellite
Posted: Sun, Jul 27, 2008, 11:15 AM ET (1515 GMT)
A Soyuz 2 rocket placed a classified Russian satellite into orbit late Saturday, Russian officials announced. The Soyuz 2-1b rocket, a modernized version of the workhorse Soyuz vehicle, lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmosdrome in northern Russia at 2:31 pm EDT (1831 GMT) and placed the payload, Kosmos 2441, into a sun-synchronous orbit nine minutes later. The spacecraft is believed to be the first in a new generation of reconnaissance satellites called Persona. The launch, not announced in advance, was delayed a day because of software problems, according to the Russian news service Itar-Tass. The launch is the fifth for the Soyuz 2 family and the second of the 1b variant, which uses a new engine in its upper stage.
A Soyuz 2 rocket placed a classified Russian satellite into orbit late Saturday, Russian officials announced. The Soyuz 2-1b rocket, a modernized version of the workhorse Soyuz vehicle, lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmosdrome in northern Russia at 2:31 pm EDT (1831 GMT) and placed the payload, Kosmos 2441, into a sun-synchronous orbit nine minutes later. The spacecraft is believed to be the first in a new generation of reconnaissance satellites called Persona. The launch, not announced in advance, was delayed a day because of software problems, according to the Russian news service Itar-Tass. The launch is the fifth for the Soyuz 2 family and the second of the 1b variant, which uses a new engine in its upper stage.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, May 13
A new ‘Boost!’ for space transportation companies
ESA — 6:12 am ET (1012 GMT) Elon Musk Is Out to Rule Space. Can Anyone Stop Him?
Wired — 6:11 am ET (1011 GMT) AST SpaceMobile ‘Optimistic’ About New Glenn Pad Return
Aviation Week — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) AST SpaceMobile Confirms Target for 45 BlueBirds This Year, Despite Blue Origin Launch Failure
ViaSatellite — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) ULA to prep future Vulcan launch for Amazon despite rocket investigation
Orlando Sentinel — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) |
