The Russian Ministry of Defense has published footage of the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a medium-class carrier rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The launch took place on April 17.
The launch of Soyuz-2.1a proceeded as normal. The flight of the carrier rocket was accompanied by the ground-based automated control complex of the Main Test Space Center named after G. Titov (Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Region).
The spacecraft was put into the target orbit according to calculations. It was taken over by the ground facilities of the Space Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Telemetric communication has now been established with it. All onboard systems of the spacecraft are operating normally.
About Plesetsk
Plesetsk is the northernmost spaceport in the world, where applied, scientific, and defense launches of unmanned spacecraft are carried out. The site appeared in 1957 as a secret facility for the development and testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
As of 2017, more than 2,000 spacecraft of various purposes have been launched into Earth orbit from Plesetsk. In 2001, the cosmodrome was included in the Space Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces.