Rocket launched to carry military satellite to orbit.

BAIKONUR, June 27 (Itar-Tass) -- A Proton-K rocket with a Kosmos
military satellite was launched from the cosmodrome of Baikonur on Friday.
The heavy carrier was launched at 03:59 Moscow time for military
purposes.
Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov watched the liftoff.
The launch was successful, the information service of the space troops and the Titov spacecraft test and control centre said.
The rocket was taken by the control centre means at 04:06:30 Moscow time to follow it in the radio visibility range. The space vehicle is planned to separate from the booster at 10:37 Moscow time.
The Proton-K three-stage launch vehicle is developed and made by the Khrunichev state space scientific and production centre. Its launch weight is about 700 tonnes. The load weight to be put in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometres is up to 2.6 tonnes. Its active flight lasts about 590 seconds. The satellite will be carried to its planned orbit with the booster engines.
Russian Space Troops Commander Vladimir Popovkin said earlier that
three fourths of rocket launches for the Defence Ministry would be carried out in 2008 to orbit new space vehicles. The commander did not say how many launches were planned for 2008. "We have some remaining in orbit," he said. If it works, why to launch what has been kept in the arsenals since the Soviet times, he added. Three fourths of planned launches will be connected with development of new orbital complexes, he explained.
The Russian orbital system numbers about 100 satellites, including
about 70 military and double purpose space vehicles. "We are respected
because we have nuclear weapons." The system serves to ensure their use.
Therefore, such attention is paid to it, the general noted.