Russia launches military satellite

Russia placed a military satellite in orbit on Wednesday in a badly-needed success for its troubled space programme.

A Proton-M fired from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space centre appeared to function normally and it set its secret payload into a proper orbit, Kremlin officials told the Interfax news agency.

"It was a normal launch," said colonel Aleksei Zoltukhin. "It went according to plan."

The successful mission was Russia's first attempt to launch a rocket into space following an August 24 crash of a Soyuz rocket, which destroyed a supply payload for the International Space Station.

That accident was preceded by an August 18 launch of a Proton-M rocket, which caused the total loss of a 400 million dollar European communications satellite by placing it in a useless orbit.

The twin August failures had raised questions over Russia's ability to put payloads into space reliably and, especially, to deliver new crew to the ISS.

The Soyuz rocket is the only vehicle capable of moving personnel from Earth to the space station. The last US space shuttle, which also could bring crew to the ISS, was retired in July.

The next Soyuz is to fly to the ISS with three astronauts in mid-November, following an unmanned flight of the Soyuz rocket planned for October 1.

Nasa officials have said that if no new crew is brought to the ISS by late November, the station might have to be evacuated.

Russia's national space agency Roskozmos has vowed the ISS will stay manned. The agency in early September announced an unprecedented review of engines used within the Soyuz rocket, particularly the third stage which is thought have caused the August 24 crash.

The massive engines are to be shipped back to Moscow for inspection, in some cases from launch centres as distant as Kazakhstan and South America, Roskozmos officials have said.