Russia on Monday launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the GLONASS-K – Russia navigation satellite from a spaceport in the north, Interfax news agency said, citing the defence Ministry.
Russia Navigation Satellite Successfully Launched to Space
Russia has launched a new high-tech space rocket to put “navigation technology” into orbit.
In this dramatic footage from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), a Russian rocket can be seen lifting off in a massive explosion.
“Combat crews of the Space Forces… successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b medium launch vehicle with the space navigation GLONASS-K system,” the agency quoted the ministry as saying.
The GLONASS-K satellite lifted off on a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow.
GLONASS-K is a navigation satellite designed to be part of the Russian GLONASS radio-based satellite navigation system. Over the past two decades, Russia has spent billions of dollars developing the GLONASS system, seen as a potential competitor to the U.S. GPS.
