Russia has successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite into orbit, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The medium-lift rocket lifted off at 5:11 p.m. local time from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, about 800 kilometers north of Moscow. The launch was conducted by a team from Russia’s Aerospace Forces.
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket, which has been in service since 2004, carried the Obzor-R No. 1 satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit. Several smaller satellites were also deployed as part of the mission.
The launch had originally been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed by one day for undisclosed reasons.
Located near the town of Mirny, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome is primarily used for military and Earth observation satellite launches. Thursday’s mission was the sixth Soyuz rocket launch carried out by Russia in 2025.
