The rocket was launched from the Plesetsk space center in the Arkhangelsk region under supervision of newly appointed Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu.
The satellite was put into a designated orbit and Russian operators managed to establish a reliable communications and data link with the spacecraft, a spokesman said to RIA Novosti.
Russia has launched six Meridian satellites, the first one in 2006. Two of the launches were complete failures. A satellite launched in December 2011 crashed in Siberia only minutes after liftoff. A third launch was partly successful, but not enough for the satellite to be included in the network. Three Meridian satellites, including the one launched yesterday, seem to be working as they should, according to Wikipedia.
Meridian-series communication satellites are used for both civilian and military purposes. They are designed to provide communication between vessels, airplanes and coastal stations on the ground, as well as to expand a network of satellite communications in the northern regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East. These satellites are designed to replace the older Molniya-series.
Plesetsk space center is part of Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO) went on duty on December 1 2011. Then President Dmitry Medvedev proposed the creation of the VKO, an analog of the European missile defense system, to replace the Russian Space Forces. The VKO brings together the air defense and missile defense systems, as well as the early missile warning and space control systems, under a unified command.
