MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket carrying the Meridian satellite has been launched into orbit from the Plesetsk spaceport on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The Space Force of the Russian Aerospace Forces launched the Soyuz-2.1a medium-class carrier rocket carrying the Meridian satellite from the Plesetsk spaceport (Arkhangelsk region) at 08:56 Moscow time (05:56 GMT)," the statement reads.

According to the Defense Ministry, the Fregat booster with the Meridian satellite detached from the carrier rocket at the scheduled time of 09:05 Moscow time (06:05 GMT).

This is the third time that a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket has been launched from the Plesetsk spaceport in 2019.

The Soyuz-2 rocket replaced the Soyuz-U carriers that were launched from the Plesetsk spaceport in 1973-2012. Over this period, a total of 435 launches took place and 430 space vehicles were delivered into orbit. The flight tests of the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket began on November 8, 2004. As many as 39 launches have been carried out so far.