Russia successfully launches military satellite

MOSCOW -- Russia on Tuesday successfully launched a military satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said that the Proton-M launch vehicle with the satellite took off at 12:56 am Moscow time (2156 GMT Monday).

It quoted Deputy Commander of the Russian Space Forces Igor Morozov as saying that the Russian Defense Ministry will stop launching its satellites from Baikonur this year and will switch to the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Russia's northern Arkhangelsk region from 2020.