A video shows a Soyuz-2-1b rocket successfully blasting off into space from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia as it delivered a navigation satellite into orbit.
The launch was conducted on Saturday night. The rocket was equipped with upper stage Fregat, which propelled a GLONASS-M satellite into orbit. The satellite is part of Russian national GPS-like navigation system.
The rocket successfully ejected all stages and was tracked by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces during the launch, the Defense Ministry said.
READ MORE: Soyuz rocket failure traced to faulty on-site assembly – probe results
Earlier, a similar rocket delivered a military satellite into orbit. The two recent Soyuz launches come after a Soyuz-FG rocket failed to transport cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and NASA’s Nick Hague to the International Space Station on October 11. Both space travelers made it home safe and unharmed.
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