Posted: Mon, Jun 26, 2006, 7:35 AM ET (1135 GMT)
A Tsiklon rocket launched a classified Russian military satellite Sunday morning. The Tsiklon 2 rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12 am EDT (0400 GMT) Sunday, and placed into low Earth orbit a spacecraft officially identified only as Kosmos 2421. According to Western reports, the spacecraft is a US-PU naval reconnaissance satellite, replacing a similar spacecraft that was deorbited in April. The launch was the first for the Ukranian-built Tsiklon, or Cyclone, rocket since a three-stage Tsiklon 3 launched in December 2004.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  AFP article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  Interfax article