Russia launches Soyuz-2.1b with KOEN, Kinosputnik spacecraft from Vostochny Spaceport

Detailed summary

Roscosmos emphasized that the launch of a carrier rocket from the Vostochny Spaceport was the first launch of private satellites subsidized as part of the Cosmos national project

MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Russia has successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the KOEN and Kinosputnik spacecraft from the Vostochny Spaceport; for the first time in the history of Russian spaceflight, the main payload of the launch consists of private spacecraft, Roscosmos reported.

"At 4:16 a.m. Moscow time (1:16 a.m. GMT), the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle, manufactured by the Progress Rocket and Space Center (part of the Roscosmos state corporation), lifted off carrying the KOEN spacecraft made by MT-LAB and the Kinosputnik spacecraft made by Sputnik Group," the statement said.

Roscosmos emphasized that the launch of a carrier rocket from the Vostochny Spaceport was the first launch of private satellites subsidized as part of the Cosmos national project. It also marked the first time in Russian space exploration history that private spacecraft constituted the primary payload.

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