A spokesman for Russia's Space Forces told RIA Novosti that communication had been established and maintained with the satellites and that their onboard systems functioned well.

The Universitetsky (Tatyana) satellite, weighing only 30 kilograms and brought to the site in an ordinary railroad compartment, was put into orbit as part of the MGU-250 space/education project to mark the 250th anniversary of Moscow State University (MGU), the oldest in Russia.

The project envisages the creation of a space-based platform for experiments to be conducted by scholars, university professors and students.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Popovkin, the Commander of the Space Forces, and MGU Rector Viktor Sadovnichy, watched the launch.

"All the satellite's devices were made by MGU scholars and students," Mr. Sadovnichy told reporters earlier.

"We will hear its call signs at a gala meeting at the State Kremlin Palace on January 25, which will be devoted to the university's anniversary," said the rector. "The launch of the satellite, which was named Tatyana, is the pinnacle of the anniversary celebrations," he said.

It was Empress Elizabeth who signed the decree to open Russia's first ever university on January 25, 1755, which was the great Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov's project. On January 25 the Russian Orthodox Church commemorates the martyr Tatyana.

Mr. Sadovnichy said "the satellite's name coincided with one of the traditions in the history of Russia's space launches. Before the spacecraft, with the world's first-ever cosmonaut Yury Gagarin on board, took off on April 12, 1961, one serviceman scrawled his wife's name, Tatyana, on the frosted rocket.

"The tradition has been observed since then, and this name continues to be written on boosters before important piloted launches," said Mr. Sadovnichy.

The satellite will provide communication with MGU branches and ensure tele-education. The university funded the launch, added the rector.

This is the first launch of a Kosmos-3M booster in 2005. A total of 411 Kosmos-3M boosters were launched from Plesetsk from 1967 to 2005; they orbited 730 satellites for various purposes, added the Space Forces.

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