Russian rocket blasts off with German satellite

A Russian rocket blasted off Monday night with a German satellite atop, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The Kosmos-3M booster, carrying the German intelligence satellite SAR-Lupe-2, launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 23:38 Moscow time (1938 GMT), sources from Russia's Space Troops said.

The launch, slated for Sunday, was one-day delayed due to strong wind.

According to a contract signed in 2003, Russia will send into orbit five such satellites, part of Germany's first satellite- based radar reconnaissance system, by its rocket.

Source: Xinhua