Russia launches military communication satellite
May 5th, 2011 - 10:54 am ICT by IANSMoscow, May 5 (IANS) Russia has successfully launched a new military communication satellite, Xinhua reported.
Lt. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for the the Russian Space Forces, said a Meridian satellite, the fourth in a series, atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk launching site in northern Russia at 2141 Moscow time Wednesday (1741 GMT), according to Itar-Tass news agency.
Apart from military uses, the Meridian-series satellites would also help in communications, navigation and surveillance for civilian customers.
Russia currently has over 100 satellites in orbit - two-thirds of them are for military or dual purposes.
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