Russia launches Soyuz rocket with five satellites

MOSCOW - Russia on Sunday launched a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with five satellites on board, the country's space agency Roscosmos said.

Roscosmos'?live webcast showed the Soyuz-FG rocket took off at 10:41 am Moscow time (0641 GMT) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

Aboard the rocket are Russia's remote-sensing satellite Canopus-B and research satellite MKA-PN1, Belarus' remote-sensing satellite BKA, Canada's communications satellite ADS-1B and Germany's mini satellite TET-1, according to Roscosmos.

The rocket's Fregat upper stage separated from the Soyuz-FG some 10 minutes after the launch. Belarus' BKA was the first satellite to uncouple from the rocket.

The launch of the five satellites was initially scheduled in the first half of 2012, but the mission was postponed several times due to disputes between Kazakhstan and Russia over a drop zone of the rocket's first stage.

The Soyuz-FG rocket is an improved version of Russia's Soyuz-U carrier rocket. Since its maiden flight in May 2001, the rocket has been launched 23 times without a failure.