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German military satellite launched by Russia: report
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    • MOSCOW, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2008
     A German reconnaissance satellite successfully took off from the Plesetsk base in northern Russia Thursday on board a Kosmos rocket, a Russian space official told Interfax news agency.

    "The launch from the Plesetsk cosmodrome went according to plan," said Alexei Zolotukhin, a spokesman for Russian troops charged with defending and managing space installations, Interfax reported.

    The SAR-Lupe satellite was designed by German contractor OHB-System for the German defence ministry and is intended for "European-wide strategic reconnaissance operations," the company said in a statement earlier.

    Thursday's launch is the fourth of five planned hi-tech satellite launches under an agreement between Russia's state arms monopoly Rosoboronexport and OHB-System signed in 2003.

    The launch was delayed twice due to weather conditions, the agency added.




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