MOSCOW, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia launched a military satellite from a northern space center on Tuesday, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

    The Molnia-M carrier rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome Tuesday morning and sent into orbit a military satellite of the Cosmos series, said Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for Space Troops.

    The four-stage medium-range carrier rocket is used for delivering spacecraft of up to two tons into high-elliptical orbit.

    Russia has launched a total of 225 Molnia-M carrier rockets in the last four decades.