The 3,119-pound Glonass M satellite launched at 0826 GMT (3:26 a.m. EST) on a Soyuz 2-1b rocket. It was 12:26 p.m. Moscow time. The three-stage booster finished its job in less than 10 minutes, leaving a Fregat upper stage to propel the Glonass payload into a 12,000-mile-high orbit with three engine firings. The Fregat released the Glonass spacecraft at 1203 GMT (7:03 a.m. EST) and Russian officials declared the launch successful. Read More

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