Russia launches communications satellite

MOSCOW -- A Proton-M rocket carrying a Russian Defense Ministry communications satellite had been successfully launched, a military spokesperson said Tuesday.

The rocket carrying the Raduga-1M satellite blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 03:46 Tuesday (2346 GMT Monday), Aerospace Defense Forces spokesperson Dmitry Zenin said.

At 03:55 (2355 GMT Monday), the Briz-M booster separated from the carrier rocket and proceeded to deliver the satellite to the designated orbit, which was due to be completed at 12:47 Tuesday (0847 GMT).

Raduga-1M, a third-generation defense satellite with multichannel transponder equipment, is designed to establish reliable communications with mobile geo-service stations, including those in remote mountainous areas.