Russian military launches satellite on Soyuz rocket
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: August 12, 2003

 
File image of Soyuz rocket launching from Baikonur. Credit: ESA
 
A Russian Soyuz booster successfully lofted a classified military satellite into orbit Tuesday, marking the 35th orbital launch of 2003.

Liftoff was at 1420 GMT (10:20 a.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

It was the seventh mission of a Soyuz-family vehicle so far this year, and the 1,681st flight of a Soyuz launcher since the dawn of the space age.

The payload for the launch was a secret satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defence. Named Kosmos 2399, it was accurately placed probably into a low Earth orbit to carry out its mission.

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