Posted: Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 6:29 PM ET (2229 GMT)
Russia launched the first in a new generation of reconnaissance satellites Friday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 3:50 pm EDT (1950 GMT) and placed the Pion-NKS No.901 satellite into orbit. This is the first in a new series of satellites used for naval reconnaissance to track ships by both detecting their radio emissions as well as through radar.

Related Links:

•  TASS article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article