Posted: Tue, Dec 24, 2002, 1:57 PM ET (1857 GMT)
A Russian Molniya booster successfully launched a military spacecraft on Tuesday, the Russian media reported. The Molniya-M booster lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 7:20 am EST (1220 GMT) Tuesday and placed its payload into an elliptical orbit an hour later. The payload, identified only as Kosmos 2393, is described as a military spacecraft; Western analysts have suggested it is a communications or early warning satellite. AFP reported that the launch took place despite bitterly cold conditions at the launch site, with temperatures at launch of -20 degrees Celsius. The launch had been planned for late October but was delayed after the failure of a similar Soyuz booster launched from Plesetsk earlier that month.

Related Links:

•  AFP article
•  RIA Novosti article