On February 20, 2020, at 11:24:54 (Moscow time), the “Soyuz-2.1a” launch vehicle with the “Meridian-M” communications satellite was successfully launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region.
The launch of the rocket and the output of the device into the calculated orbit took place normally.
Three minutes after the launch, “Soyuz-2.1a” was accepted for control by the automated control complex of the Main Testing Space Center.
The “Meridian-M” satellite is designed to provide communication between ships and ice reconnaissance aircraft in the Northern Sea Route area with coastal, ground stations, and expand the network of satellite communications stations in the northern regions of Siberia and the Far East in the interests of developing the economy of the Russian Federation.
This is the first launch of the “Soyuz-2” launch vehicle from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in 2020.