Launch Soyuz 2-1v launch for Russian MoD (

[WesL]

Forgot to the post this yesterday but the Russians just launched a rocket yesterday with a classified Ministry of Defense payload that a few sites are describing as a space surveillance mission. In June 2017 there was a similar launch that included a satellite that actually deployed another satellite (think Russia Nesting Dolls) that was described as a "inspector probe" that could approach and image other objects in space. Will be interesting if the world's amateur astronomers detect any unusual activity with this satellite as well.

Analysts noted similarities between Monday’s launch and a Soyuz 2-1v flight in June 2017 that deployed a similarly-secretive payload into orbit. Observers believed the June 2017 launch carried a military spacecraft into orbit to collect geodetic measurements, but the satellite later released a smaller craft in orbit described by the Russian military as an inspector probe capable approaching and imaging other objects in orbit, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com, a website run by the respected Russian space journalist Anatoly Zak.

More info at https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/25/russia-launches-space-surveillance-satellite/