Article Posted on : - Jun 28, 2011

MOSCOW (BNS): The Russian Space Forces has placed in orbit a Cosmos series military satellite.

The satellite, designated Cosmos 2472, was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from the Plesetsk space centre in north Russia at 08.00 pm Moscow time (16.00 GMT) on Monday.

“The rocket put the Cosmos-series military satellite into the designated orbit at 08.08 pm Moscow time (16.08 GMT),” Russian Space Forces’ spokesman Lt. Col. Alexey Zolotukhin was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.

Russia has been operating a large number of Cosmos satellites.

The newly-launched spacecraft will enhance the Russian network of about 60-70 military reconnaissance satellites, featuring updated imaging technology and an extended lifetime of up to seven years.