OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2009. A Kosmos-3M launcher with a Russia’s military satellite and the Sterkh satellite (as a piggy–bacjk payload) - was launched Plesetsk launch base in Northern Russia.
 
The lift off was nominal. The both spacecraft was put into target orbit successfully and on schedule, at 9:00 a.m. Moscow Time.
 
The Kosmos 3M is a light–weight liquid–fuelled two stage Russian rocket. This rocket is manufactured by PO Polyot, the Omsk–based branch of the Khrunichev Space Center.
 
The  Sterkh mini-satellite  has been manifactured by PO Polyot. The satellite will upgrade the international search and rescue satellite–aided system (COSPAS-SARSAT).