Russia launches Proton rocket at Baikonur

Soyuz rocket booster lifts of from Baikonur cosmodrome, carrying members of the next mission to the International Space Station in Kazakhstan on Nov. 7, 2013. (EPA Photo/Sergei Chirikov)

Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite in the early hours of Tuesday from its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch took place at 03:46 Moscow time (23:46 GMT) carrying a satellite for the Russian defense ministry, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

Russia restarted launches of Proton rockets in September after a pause to investigate why one exploded on takeoff on July 2.

The Proton-M rocket is Russia’s most popular for commercial satellite launches.

Roscomos chief Vladimir Popovkin was dismissed in October after two and a half years, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complaining of a “whole number of problems” in the space agency’s work.

AFP