Russian rocket puts 4 satellites into space

MOSCOW - A Russian carrier rocket with one military and three civilian satellites on board blasted off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia, the Aerospace Defence Force said Saturday.

ADF spokesman Col. Alexey Zolotukhin told local media the Rokot rocket was launched at 5:35 am Moscow time (0135 GMT). One military satellite, two Gonets-M telecoms satellites and a Yubileiny-2 scientific microsatellite successfully reached the designated orbit at 7:21 am (0321 GMT).

Zolotukhin said the military spacecraft would join a network of 70 Russian military reconnaissance satellites after reaching the orbit.

The 107-ton light Rokot launcher is a derivative of the Russian RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It contains two original lower stages of the ICBM and an upper stage for commercial payloads.

Russia suspended the launch of Rokot carrier rockets after a failed launch in February 2011, when the rocket sent a Geo-IK-2 satellite into an incorrect orbit.