Proton-M Rocket Carrying Military Satellite Launched From Baikonur

MOSCOW/BAIKONUR. Dec 9 (Interfax-AVN) – A Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite was launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan at 3:16 a.m. Moscow time on Sunday, Russian Space Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax.

Russian Space Forces Commander Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin, who had arrived at Baikonur on Saturday, supervised the preparations for the launch and the launch itself, Zolotukhin said.

The rocket launch was controlled by the Space Forces’ ground automated control stations, Zolotukhin said. “The satellite is to separate [from the rocket] at 12:17 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, when it will be outside the radio coverage zone,” Zolotukhin said.

This was the third spacecraft that has been launched for the needs of the Russian Defense Ministry in 2007. A total of 20 space launches have been carried out from Russian space centers this year. During one of them, a Proton-M rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite crashed shortly after liftoff from Baikonur in September.

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