Posted: Fri, Jan 21, 2011, 7:08 AM ET (1208 GMT)
A Zenit rocket successfully launched a Russian weather satellite on Thursday. The Zenit rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:29 am EST (1229 GMT) Thursday and deployed the Elektro-L 1 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit nine hours later. The satellite will provide meteorological data, including visible and infrared images, for the next ten years, improving Russian weather forecasting that had previously been relying on a single weather satellite, Meteor-M. The rocket, variously identified as a Zenit 3F or Zenit 3SB, was the first flight of this Zenit variant, which uses a Fregat upper stage. The launch was scheduled for late last month but postponed to allow launch teams to recheck procedures in the wake of the failed Proton launch of three navigation satellites in early December.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Roskosmos press release