The three Russian satellites, which blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, were set to reach orbit by 1200 GMT and join Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Russia's space agency told AFP.

In November, Russia's embattled space industry was issued a harsh blow when the Russian-made Proton-K rocket failed to launch an Astra-1K satellite, leaving the world's largest civil telecommunications satellite adrift until its Luxembourg-based operators decided to sink it in the Pacific Ocean.

The Russian space agency's deputy director said on Tuesday that the Astra-1K failed to reach orbit because of a malfunction in its launch apparatus.

"The investigation commission concluded that this was a singular failure and will not compromise future launches," Nikolai Moysseyev added.

SPACE.WIRE