Russia launches secret military satellite from Plesetsk

Russia launched a military satellite aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region on 7 November 2026, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. A crew from the Space Forces of Russia’s Aerospace Forces conducted the launch. The ministry said the spacecraft had separated successfully, reached its assigned orbit and established stable telemetry contact after deployment. Officials described the payload only as a spacecraft launched for the defence ministry and withheld its designation, mission and orbital parameters, leaving the satellite’s specific function undisclosed.