Russia orbits military communications satellite

The Meridian 4 satellite is carried by a Soyuz-2.1a rocket.

Photo Alexander Morgunov

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti)

A Russian Meridian series military communications satellite has been put into a designated orbit, a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said on Thursday. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Meridian 4 satellite lifted off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia at 09.41 pm Moscow time (17:41 GMT) on Wednesday. "A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Fregat booster has successfully orbited a Meridian satellite," Lt. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said. The official said that a communication link with the Meridian 4 had been established, and the satellite's on-board systems were operating without glitches. The Meridian 4 satellite is the fourth in a series of military communications satellites being launched by Russia to replace the ageing Molniya system. Russia has more than 100 satellites in orbit. Two-thirds of them are military or dual-purpose spacecraft.