Soyuz 2-1B launches third Persona-1 spy satellite

A Russian Soyuz 2-1B launch vehicle has successfully launched with the third and possibly final Persona-1 reconnaissance satellite – also known as Kvarts – into space on Tuesday. The launch was conducted at 16:44 GMT from launch pad 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia under the usual secrecy of a military launch. The first and only completely new class of Russian photoreconnaissance satellite to fly after 2000 has been in the Persona-1 series. More

(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jun 24)