Russia launches new recon satellite

MOSCOW, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Russia announced Tuesday it had launched a military spy satellite into orbit.

The nature of the spacecraft was not revealed; however, the RIA Novosti news agency said some military experts said it was part of the Russian "Oko" early warning system that detects enemy missile launches.

The agency said Russia has a network of about 60 to 70 reconnaissance satellites in orbit.

Space Forces said in its announcement the Cosmos-2446 satellite was launched without a hitch from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia Tuesday morning and was ticked into its designated orbit less than two hours later.

The launch vehicle was the trusty Molniya-M, a converted intercontinental ballistic missile capable of placing a 2-ton satellite into orbit.