Posted: Sat, May 24, 2008, 12:06 PM ET (1606 GMT)
A Rockot vehicle launched three Russian military satellites and a small secondary satellite on Friday. The Rockot lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 11:20 am EDT (1520 GMT) and placed the four satellites into orbit at an altitude of approximately 1,450 kilometers. Three of the satellites were Gonets spacecraft that provide data relay services for the Russian military. The rocket also placed into orbit a small satellite named Yubileiny built by Russian company NPO PM. The satellite, built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sputnik, is designed to test new equipment for use on future spacecraft. The launch is the first to use a Breeze M upper stage since a March failure of the same stage on a Proton rocket.
