Russia launches Proton-M rocket with military satellite

This file photo shows a Proton-M rocket, seen being rised to the launch pad at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on March 27, 2012 

Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite in the early hours of Tuesday from its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch took place at 03:46 Moscow time (23:46 GMT) carrying a satellite for the Russian defence ministry, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. 

Russia restarted launches of Proton rockets in September after a pause to investigate why one exploded on takeoff on July 2.

The Proton-M rocket is Russia's most popular for commercial satellite launches.

Roscomos chief Vladimir Popovkin was dismissed in October after two and a half years, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complaining of a "whole number of problems" in the space agency's work.