Russia successfully launched a Meridian satellite this Wednesday at 9:45 pm Moscow time from Arkhangelsk base in northern Russia. The fourth launch of its kind since 2006, the satellite will carry out communication, navigation and surveillance tasks for military as well as civil purposes.
A Soyuz rocket carried the satellite into the upper atmosphere and released it around 10 pm. The satellite reached its desired orbit while a communication link was established. According to Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, Spokesperson of the Russian Space Forces, all systems were operating smoothly.
The satellite will orbit the Earth in an elliptical shape including a low point of 620 miles and a high point of as much as 24,700 miles. This high-altitude orbit allows the satellite to stay over Russian territory for an extended amount of hours linking airplanes and ships with ground station and military bases over the Arctic. These high latitude regions are out of reach for most satellites in traditional orbits.
The series of launches will replace Russia's ageing Molniya guidance system. The country has almost 100 satellites in orbit. Most of them serve military or dual purposes.
The spacecraft was built by ISS Reshetnev, contractor of the Russian Space Program.(newstonight.net)
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