Moscow, Russia — A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East on Friday, putting into orbit 36 UK telecommunications and internet satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said.
The launch was the first and only one to take place from the cosmodrome this year, Roscosmos told AFP.
The rocket took off at 1226 GMT, the space agency said, carrying satellites made by the British-based company OneWeb.
Nearly five hours later, space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin said that all the satellites had reached their intended orbit.
“The mission has been successfully completed. Congratulations!” he said on Twitter.
Originally planned for April, the launch was…
Keep on reading: Russia lifts UK telecom satellites into orbit