Russian military satellites reach final orbit
PLESETSK, Arkhangelsk region. Dec 25 (Interfax-AVN) - A Briz-KM upper stage has successfully delivered a cluster of military satellites to the final orbit, Russian Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman Col. Dmitry Zenin said.
"The satellites separated from the Briz-KM upper stage normally. The upper stage will be removed from orbit in approximately 15 minutes," Zenin told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
He said earlier that a Rokot light launch vehicle carrying the military satellites blasted off Plesetsk at 4:31 a.m. Moscow time on Wednesday.
The orbital period of the satellites moving along a 1,500-kilometer circular orbit will be one hour and 55 minutes.
This is the fourth Rokot mission conducted from Plesetsk in 2013, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Rokot light launch vehicle is a civilian modification of the decommissioned RS-18 (NATO reporting name Stiletto) two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile. Its takeoff weight is 107.5 tonnes. The launch vehicle carries satellites of up to two tonnes to low near-Earth orbits. The Rokot has three stages, the first two from the RS-18 and the third is Briz-KM.
