Posted: Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 6:05 AM ET (1005 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket placed a Russian military reconnaissance satellite into orbit on Monday. The Soyuz-U rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 12 pm EDT (1600 GMT) Monday and placed the Kosmos-2472 satellite into orbit. Russian officials confirmed that the satellite is a reconnaissance satellite with "upgraded imaging technology" and with an extended lifetime of up to seven years. Western observers believe the satellite is a Kobalt-class imaging satellite.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Itar-Tass article
•  Interfax article