Snapshots of spectacular sunset Soyuz launch

A new Russian weather satellite lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, riding a Soyuz launcher into space with six small piggyback satellites from Britain, the United States and Norway.

The polar-orbiting Meteor M2 satellite will track cloud cover, storm systems, temperature and humidity, and polar ice for weather forecasters.

The 6,124-pound Meteor M2 satellite launched at 1558:28 GMT (11:58:28 a.m. EDT) from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it was 9:58 p.m. local time.

Read our full story for details on the mission.

Photo credit: Roscosmos