Zenith-3M launcher with Fregat-SB upper stage.
A Russian Zenith-3M rocket with an observation satellite blasted off early Monday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has said. The rocket, with Fregat-SB upper stage and Russian astrophysical observatory Spectrum-R, lifted off at 6:31 a.m. Moscow time (0231 GMT) from Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, said the agency. Separation of the spacecraft from the upper stage which will deliver Spectrum-R into the targeted orbit is expected to take place at about 10 a.m. (0600 GMT), Roscosmos said. Spectrum-R was designed under the Radioastron international project by prime contractor Lavochkin R and D, while scientific payloads were developed by the Astro Space Center of Lebedev.
