Posted: Sun, Dec 6, 2015, 10:05 AM ET (1505 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket launched Saturday carrying two military satellites, but one of the two may have failed to separate from the rocket's upper stage. The Soyuz-2-1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 9:09 am EST (1409 GMT, 5:09 pm Moscow time) Saturday carrying two military satellites, designated Cosmos 2511 and 2512. The Russian Ministry of Defense originally announced the launch was a success and both spacecraft were in orbit. However, Russian media later reported that sources within the Russian military said one of the two satellites failed to separate from the rocket's upper stage, and would likely be declared a loss. That report did not indicate which satellite had failed to separate. One satellite, Kanopus-ST, is designed to track ocean surface conditions and cloud cover, possibly with the ability to track submarines. The other, KYuA-1, is a radar calibration sphere.

Related Links:

•  TASS article
•  Sputnik International article
•  Russian Space Web article
•  Russian MoD press release