The Soyuz rocket exploded from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday carrying the first satellite in Russia to monitor the Arctic climate, the Roscosmos space agency said.
Video released by the Russian space agency showed Soyuz tasting launching against gray skies at 0655 GMT, carrying an Arktika-M satellite.
Space agency leader Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter Sunday that the launch was normal.
“The‘ Arktika ’hydrometeorological space and climate study system is designed to monitor the climate and the environment in the Arctic region,” Roscosmos said in a statement.
The surveillance system needs at least two satellites to function properly, the space agency said.
“As part of the system, they will take a close-up view of the Earth’s surface and the Arctic Ocean’s oceans,” he said.
The launch of the second Arktika-M satellite is planned for 2023, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Arctic economic development is one of the main goals of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Arctic has vast oil and gas reserves that include Russia and other countries including the United States, Canada and Norway.
UK scientists said last month that ice was disappearing around the world at a rate that matched “the worst of global warming conditions”.
The team from the universities of Edinburgh and Leeds and University College London found some of the biggest losses in the last three decades have been since the Arctic Ocean ice.