MOSCOW (Sputnik) – This is the third liftoff of the Soyuz-2.1 type rocket from Plesetsk in 2016 following the Soyuz-2.1b's successful launch on February 7 and Soyuz-2.1a's successful launch on March 24.
"On Sunday, at 11:45 a.m. Moscow time [08:45 GMT] a squad of the Russian Space Forces of Russian Aerospace Forces successfully carried out a launch of a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the navigation satellite Glonass-M," the press service told RIA Novosti.
Glonass, a global navigation system operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, allows real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the world.
"At 11:48 a.m. Moscow time [08:48 GMT], Soyuz-2.1b was taken under control of the Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Center of the Russian Space Command," the ministry added.
