Posted: Sat, May 24, 2014, 12:40 PM ET (1640 GMT)
A Rockot vehicle placed three Russian military satellites into orbit on Friday. The Rockot lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 1:27 am EDT (0527 GMT, 9:27 am Moscow time) and placed the Cosmos 2496, 2497, and 2498 satellites into low Earth orbit an hour and 45 minutes later. The purpose of the satellites wasn't announced, but the three are thought to be new spacecraft for an existing military communications system. The launch was the first this year for the Rockot, a converted SS-18 ICBM.
