A Soyuz-U carrier rocket bearing a military satellite was launched on Friday from the Plesetsk space center in north Russia, an aide to the Russian Space Forces commander said.

Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said the launch, carried out for the Russian Defense Ministry, had gone ahead without any difficulties.

The Soyuz-U rocket is designed to orbit Soyuz and Progress manned and cargo spacecraft, as well as special purpose spacecraft such as Cosmos, Resurs-F, Foton and Bion.

The rocket can orbit cargos weighing up to 6,950 metric tons.