Zenit rocket climbs to orbit with weather satellite

A Zenit rocket lifted off Thursday from Kazakhstan with a Russian weather satellite to snap real-time images of clouds and storm systems. The Ukrainian Zenit 3F booster blasted off at 1229 GMT (7:29 a.m. EST) from pad 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was the first space launch anywhere in the world in 2011. The 20-story rocket disappeared into low clouds hanging over the snow-covered space center a few seconds after launch. The launcher released the Electro-L 1 weather satellite into orbit at 2128 GMT (4:28 p.m. EST). More

(Source: Space Flight Now - Jan 21)