The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out the second launch of a Soyuz carrier rocket with spacecraft from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in 2024. The satellites were placed in the designated orbits.

The launch of the rocket was announced in a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday, May 17, 2024.

«On May 17, 2024, a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a spacecraft on board was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Arkhangelsk region) in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry,» the ministry said.

The spacecraft, which received the standard designation «Kosmos» and the number 2576, was placed in the target orbit. The purpose and type of the satellite were not disclosed. Presumably it could be a new reconnaissance vehicle.

Later it became known that 6 other satellites produced by the private Russian company SPUTNIKS (a subsidiary of SITRONICS SPACE) were also launched into orbit.

These are two Zorky-2M satellites for Earth remote sensing (ERS) and four SITRO-AIS satellites for the automatic identification system (AIS) for tracking maritime vessels.

The first launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which also became Russia’s first space launch in 2024, took place on February 9, 2024. At that time, the Soyuz-2.1v carrier rocket successfully put into orbit a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian military.