The Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying a military satellite takes off from Plesetsk – Science & Space

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket has been launched from the Plesetsk spaceport in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“An Aerospace Forces Space Force combat crew successfully launched a medium-class Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying spacecraft for the benefit of the Russian Ministry of Defense from Launchpad 4 at Spaceport Site 43 in Defense Ministry test in the Arkhangelsk region at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time on Saturday, February 5,” the statement read.

According to the Ministry of Defense, all pre-launch operations and the launch itself proceeded normally. “The means of an automated ground-based control system controlled the launch and flight of the carrier rocket,” the ministry added.

Fregat booster with a military spacecraft separated from the third stage of Soyuz-2.1a. “The Fregat booster and a spacecraft launched on behalf of the Russian Defense Ministry separated from the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket at 10:09 a.m. Moscow time, as scheduled,” the statement said.

It was the first launch of a Soyuz-s rocket in 2022. Test flights of Soyuz-2 rockets, which later replaced Soyuz-U rockets, began in Plesetsk in 2004. A total of 52 launches of Soyuz-2 have taken place since then.