Russian Military Launches Secret Surveillance Satellite Into Orbit

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a top-secret military satellite designed to scope out other satellites in space on Monday (Nov. 25), according to government reports.

The Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle brought the satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which is roughly 500 miles or 800 kilometers north of Moscow, for the Russian Defense Ministry, the ministry said in a statement. The launch took place at 12:52 p.m. EST (1752 GMT or 8:52 p.m. local time).

"The spacecraft ... is launched into the target orbit from which the state of domestic satellites can be monitored," the ministry added. "The optical equipment of the spacecraft also allows you to take pictures of the Earth's surface."

Related: The Most Dangerous Space Weapons Concepts Ever

A Russian Soyuz 2.1v rocket launches a classified military satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russian on Nov. 25, 2019. The satellite can apparently track other satellites in orbit.

A Russian Soyuz 2.1v rocket launches a classified military satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Nov. 25, 2019. The satellite can apparently track other satellites in orbit.  (Image credit: Roscosmos)

The spacecraft — whose name is not yet disclosed by the ministry or the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) — is now under control of the Space Troops of the Aerospace Force. As of today (Nov. 26), it is functioning normally, the ministry said.

This is the fifth time a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle launched in 2019 from Plesetsk, Roscosmos said in their own statement (which Space.com translated into English using computer translation). Soyuz-2 is the next generation of rockets after Soyuz-U, which underwent 435 launches from Plesetsk between 1973 and 2012, Roscosmos added.

Russian authorities chose not to give notice of the launch ahead of time, but they did issue airspace warning notices of "drop zones" for rocket pieces as stages fell away from the Soyuz, according to SpaceflightNow. Trajectory information from these notices suggest that the Russians planned to launch a satellite into a near-polar orbit, which allows (over time) the satellite to view practically the entire Earth after several orbits.

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Elizabeth Howell
Live Science Contributor
Elizabeth Howell is a regular contributor to Live Science and Space.com, along with several other science publications. She is one of a handful of Canadian reporters who specializes in space reporting. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Journalism, Science Concentration at Carleton University (Canada) and an M.Sc. Space Studies (distance) at the University of North Dakota. Elizabeth became a full-time freelancer after earning her M.Sc. in 2012. She reported on three space shuttle launches in person and once spent two weeks in an isolated Utah facility pretending to be a Martian.
  • Patriart
    One issue both parties agree on is WAR. Clearly the US has started Cold War 2 and is also attempting to gain control in other areas around the globe, and now in space. It thinks it can win anywhere using the old gunboat diplomacy strategy. No treaties, peaceful diplomacy or negotiations, just sanctions and wars. My opinion: Those days are over, the US is in serious debt and the entire economy is corrupt beyond recovery. The culture is fragmented and decayed, I had hoped Trump might work for peace but he did exactly what Bush did: give the crooks a major tax break, increase debt spending and start more warmongering.
    Does any sane intelligent person think Russia and China would really succumb to US gunboat diplomacy? Trump has declared war in space with Russia, a country that we purchase rocket engines from, and rides to the space station. As Pat Buchanan said in two famous book titles, Death of the West and Suicide of a Superpower, the US is creating a path to the garbage heap of history. In addition, it appears our only other choice is a gov’t controlled by socialists oblivious to debt, and who loves sexual deviants and baby killers. But they also love war mainly to benefit another nation that controls our foreign policy. Guess who that is.
    I can say much more but hope I have made my point, sadly I must say.
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Patriart said:
    One issue both parties agree on is WAR. Clearly the US has started Cold War 2 and is also attempting to gain control in other areas around the globe, and now in space. It thinks it can win anywhere using the old gunboat diplomacy strategy. No treaties, peaceful diplomacy or negotiations, just sanctions and wars. My opinion: Those days are over, the US is in serious debt and the entire economy is corrupt beyond recovery. The culture is fragmented and decayed, I had hoped Trump might work for peace but he did exactly what Bush did: give the crooks a major tax break, increase debt spending and start more warmongering.
    Does any sane intelligent person think Russia and China would really succumb to US gunboat diplomacy? Trump has declared war in space with Russia, a country that we purchase rocket engines from, and rides to the space station. As Pat Buchanan said in two famous book titles, Death of the West and Suicide of a Superpower, the US is creating a path to the garbage heap of history. In addition, it appears our only other choice is a gov’t controlled by socialists oblivious to debt, and who loves sexual deviants and baby killers. But they also love war mainly to benefit another nation that controls our foreign policy. Guess who that is.
    I can say much more but hope I have made my point, sadly I must say.

    I really can't argue with you there so I guess I will add. It is apparent that the Globalist, Powers That Be, or whatever you want to call the entities at the top of the pyramid who we don't see, definitely use the US military for their gain and interests. They are pretty much sold out which is why we are in so many foreign entanglements. The US is the new Rome with troops stationed on almost every country while their are people starving in the US and bridges and roads crumbling. Thank you Military Industrial Complex.

    The once at one time Republic that was the US was the only bastion of freedom well except for the trade slave. They ended the trade slave because they figured out how to make everyone a slave without them even knowing it. Now not many freedoms left and the National ID system about to take effect in this 2020 is no longer a bastion of freedom but only a war machine who preaches freedom while the US isn't even free itself. Land of the free and home of the brave is not even true at all so I don't blame people for sitting for the national anthem and rightly they should. Not to mention we have more people locked up then any other country in this world in this so called free nation of laws.

    We the American people are to blame for this because we let them do it. We forgot what freedom is and don't even care and have just become fat slobs who can't even push the button for the remote anymore but say the channel because it is even to hard now to push a button. America truly has become a sick and mind controlled nation and no longer a bastion of hope and freedom anymore. Very sad indeed.
    Reply
  • Lucille
    admin said:
    A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a top-secret military satellite designed to scope out other satellites in space on Monday (Nov. 25), according to government reports.

    Russian Military Launches Secret Surveillance Satellite Into Orbit : Read more
    So another Sputnik. But the U.S. does not really need another military branch. No need for Space Force. Consider what happened to the Columbia Shuttle and the other one called Challenger, I think.
    Reply
  • Ront5353
    Your young people are so deluded now days you can, t think for yourself. Cold War 2 you do not even know what that is because you have never seen it. You have been spoon-fed Saul Alinsky social change for 50 yrs. and been dumb down. Peace treaties, how many peace treaties been signed in over 3000 yrs. Peace treaties and things are pieces of paper that can be torn up. All you young people are doing is regurgitating the 60, s hippie movement. The last 60 yrs. have been Democrat control except for Bush who was a traitor. Reagan even had his faults.
    I served both Vietnam and the cold war you have no idea what the threats are that face you around the world on a daily basis. You have no idea the military powers of China and Russia. Not counting the nuclear arsenal of Iran and North Korea.
    Russia has a rocket that can travel 7000 mph be here in America in around 30 minutes. See if you can count the nuclear weapons they have in their possession. See if you can count the nuclear weapons that China has in its arsenal.
    You have been spoon fed garbage from the education systems and the news conglomerates of the day. There are only two ways we learn in life. We are either cattle, we mimic what others teach us to say so we can feel important or we take it upon ourselves to do the research.
    Governments are the most dangerous animals in the world some are good, and some are bad, but you will never know because you lack the instinct to acquire knowledge that will be your Achilles heel. America will fall irregardless who is in power this has been orchestrated for the last 50 yrs.
    One-way governments move societies in any direction is to dumb them down. This has been the norm for over 4000 thousand years. All you are seeing today is social engineering that started decades ago in the education systems around the country. You have to reverse engineer to understand the cause of social engineering that occurred around 1968. Cold war you need to check your history you might learn something.
    America falls I hope you young people have some grief counselors on speed dial cause your going to need it.
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Ront5353 said:
    Your young people are so deluded now days you can, t think for yourself. Cold War 2 you do not even know what that is because you have never seen it. You have been spoon-fed Saul Alinsky social change for 50 yrs. and been dumb down. Peace treaties, how many peace treaties been signed in over 3000 yrs. Peace treaties and things are pieces of paper that can be torn up. All you young people are doing is regurgitating the 60, s hippie movement. The last 60 yrs. have been Democrat control except for Bush who was a traitor. Reagan even had his faults.
    I served both Vietnam and the cold war you have no idea what the threats are that face you around the world on a daily basis. You have no idea the military powers of China and Russia. Not counting the nuclear arsenal of Iran and North Korea.
    Russia has a rocket that can travel 7000 mph be here in America in around 30 minutes. See if you can count the nuclear weapons they have in their possession. See if you can count the nuclear weapons that China has in its arsenal.
    You have been spoon fed garbage from the education systems and the news conglomerates of the day. There are only two ways we learn in life. We are either cattle, we mimic what others teach us to say so we can feel important or we take it upon ourselves to do the research.
    Governments are the most dangerous animals in the world some are good, and some are bad, but you will never know because you lack the instinct to acquire knowledge that will be your Achilles heel. America will fall irregardless who is in power this has been orchestrated for the last 50 yrs.
    One-way governments move societies in any direction is to dumb them down. This has been the norm for over 4000 thousand years. All you are seeing today is social engineering that started decades ago in the education systems around the country. You have to reverse engineer to understand the cause of social engineering that occurred around 1968. Cold war you need to check your history you might learn something.
    America falls I hope you young people have some grief counselors on speed dial cause your going to need it.

    Great points Ront. I really can't argue with you there. I had a little time in war also. I spent 5 times in Iraq and one time in Afghanistan. Oh you will never believe who came to Afghanistan when I was there. No other then Oliver North. I supposed he was checking on the heroine crops.lol! I didn't have the balls to ask him though. But now we wonder why we have an opiate crisis. Hmmmm I wonder where it is coming from?lol! I think it is obvious.
    Reply