Posted: Sat, Nov 21, 2009, 10:22 AM ET (1522 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket launched an unspecified military satellite on Friday. The Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 5:44 am EST (1044 GMT) Friday and placed a spacecraft identified as Kosmos 2455 into an elliptical, inclined orbit. Russian officials provided no details about the spacecraft's mission other than that it is a military spacecraft, although Western observers speculate that it is the first in a series of next-generation electronic reconnaissance satellites.

Related Links:

•  Itar-Tass article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  Xinhua article