Russia launched a Kosmos series military satellite into orbit on Thursday, the Space Forces press service said.

The satellite, carried by a Kosmos-3M rocket, blasted off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome at 9:46 p.m. Moscow time (1746 GMT) and is designed to reach the near-earth orbit, Itar-Tass news agency cited the Space Forces as saying.

The launch, the fifth of its kind this year for the Russian Defense Ministry, is aimed at increasing the military orbital group, Interfax news agency reported quoting an official with the Space Forces.

The Kosmos-3M is a light two-stage launch vehicle designed to carry payloads into low, middle and high orbits. The rocket, with a successful launch rate of 98 percent, is able to lift up to 1500 kilograms into space.