Posted: Thu, May 5, 2011, 7:04 AM ET (1104 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket launched a Russian military communications satellite late Wednesday. The Soyuz 2-1a rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 1:41 pm EDT (1741 GMT) and placed the Meridian 4 satellite into a Molniya-class inclined, elliptical orbit a little over two hours later. The satellite is the latest in a series of communications satellites that serve northern latitudes, replacing the older Molniya satellites.

Related Links:

•  Itar-Tass article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article